Goodbye Until Tomorrow
by ariadne melody
Summary: Set after 2.22, Elena finds herself constantly thinking of Stefan.
1. Chapter 1

AN: Sorry about the delay in fics! This is one that will *probably* be continued. Reviews and comments would be great! And, really, you guys have been so lovely with all your comments, reviews, etc so far- I really appreciate it!

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><p>At first Elena wasn't sure why she was awake. Her bed was comfortable, despite the lack of Stefan in it; the house was quiet but not too quiet, and her phone wasn't ringing and she hadn't left music playing. If Stefan had been there... well, that would change everything. If Stefan had been there, Elena wouldn't have cried herself to sleep. If Stefan had been there, she wouldn't just be going through the motions every single day, stumbling blearily along without caring- or letting herself care- about anything. If Stefan was there, his arms would be around her right now and he'd be nestled against her, whispering in her ear and kissing her neck, hands skimming the hem of her t-shirt and not minding being awake at all.<p>

Stop it, Elena ordered herself. Once she got started down this particular road, it only ended in tears and-

There was someone else in the room. Elena's breath caught as she looked at the window and saw him standing there.

"Stefan?" she whispered.

He turned around. "Hi."

He looked exhausted and as handsome as ever; his shirt had rips and bloodstains on it and she still thought it looked beautiful on him (something about the color and his eyes).

"Stefan," she repeated and suddenly he was rushing towards her, enveloping her in his arms and crushing her against him.

"Elena," he breathed as he hugged her. "Oh my god, Elena, I miss you so much."

Elena slowly brought her arms around him, unable to believe that this was actually happening. "I miss you."

Stefan pulled slightly away from her, cupped her face gently and kissed her; it was possibly the most passionate kiss he'd ever given her, which was saying something. Elena found herself melting against him, grasping his shirt, relishing in feeling his lips against hers, his tongue slipping into her mouth, his hands grasping her back. When their lips eventually broke apart, Elena buried her face in Stefan's shoulder, tears spilling down her face and staining his shirt.

"It's okay, Elena," Stefan murmured against her ear. He hugged her waist and tangled his other hand in her hair. "I love you, I love you."

"What the hell is going on?" she pulled back to look at him. "Klaus, is he-?"

"Dead," Stefan said shortly. "I killed him."

Elena felt dazed and dizzy, confused beyond belief- this was all happening too quickly for her to begin to comprehend. "How?"

Stefan shrugged. "Ripped his heart out. He didn't even see it coming."

"Good," she said, surprised at the venom in her voice. "Good."

Stefan smiled, but it wasn't a usual smile. His lips seemed sly and wicked, his eyes danced at some sort of merry joke that Elena wasn't in on. "Didn't know you felt that way, baby. Normally you're so quick to let go of a grudge... or is that only for Damon?"

He didn't look like Stefan anymore; he looked more like a sunken, twisted version of Stefan, Voldemort instead of Tom Riddle.

"Stefan?" Elena said slowly, aware of how his arm around her waist had tightened considerably.

"Oh, he's not Stefan anymore," a crisp, cold voice stated and Elena felt a growing horror spread through her as Klaus emerged from the shadows, holding an unconscious Jeremy in his arms. "I don't believe you've had the pleasure of meeting the Ripper."

Stefan's eyes had turned blood red, his fangs extended, and he lunged for Jeremy's neck-

"Elena! _Elena_!"

Elena gasped as Jeremy's face appeared above hers. "Wh-what?"

"You were screaming," he said, wiping his brow. Alaric appeared behind him, concern on his face, crossbow in hand.

"You okay?"

"Bad dream," Elena answered quietly, her heartbeat eventually slowing back to normal.

Jeremy and Alaric exchanged a look, though neither comment that it was the fifth time this week that it's happened: Elena shrieking in the middle of the night, sending both Jeremy and Alaric scrambling for her room certain that Klaus was there attacking her, only to find Elena asleep and fighting an invisible foe. They know now that it wasn't necessary to grab every weapon in the house before running to "save" her.

"Seriously, I'm fine," Elena made an effort to smile ruefully. "Sorry I bothered you guys. Again."

Jeremy shrugged, looking unconvinced. "If you say so..."

After they left, Elena grabbed her bear and rolled over, pulling the covers completely over her head. So, okay, she had had a bunch of nightmares lately- everything from seeing Jenna die again and again to Klaus and Stefan attacking Jeremy to Stefan dying. Sleep was no longer an escape from the world, but a heightened horror version of it.

Elena felt herself drifting despite herself, knowing that sleep only brought more horrors. It was inevitable. She'd tried to convince Bonnie to make her some sort of potion, one that would keep her awake for as long as possible, but Bonnie had simply raised her eyebrows and Elena hadn't bothered finishing the request. She'd thought about asking Caroline or Damon to compel her, keep her from sleeping, but knew that would just result in being yelled at or some sort of intervention. That meant sleep was inevitable...

She was sitting in the Salvatore living room, thumbing through a copy of Middlemarch while Stefan wrote in his journal. She wasn't reading, despite the fact it was one of her favorites; instead she eyed Stefan, noting how his lips were pursed and his shoulders tensed, even though they were alone, even though she was only wearing one of his sweatshirts.

Setting the book aside, Elena walked over to Stefan and sat behind him, grabbing his shoulders and massaging them gently.

"You're tense, baby," she whispered. "What's wrong?"

Stefan stopped writing in mid-sentence. "I miss you."

"I miss you too," she dug her hands deeper into his skin.

"I'm trying, Elena, I'm trying to fight it," he told her.

"I know you are."

"But I think I'm losing," he dropped his head. "I'm enjoying it, Elena, enjoying hurting people."

"No, you're not," Elena whispered. "No, you're not."

Stefan was quiet and grabbed onto her hand, holding it to his face and kissing it. "I love you so much," he whispered so softly that Elena strained to hear him. "I love you."

"I love you," she said, loudly and clearly, twisting so she was in his lap and looking into his eyes. "You are going to beat this, Stefan."

He just looked at her and laughed mirthlessly.

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><p>Elena ignored her alarm clock. School seemed less and less important by the day; sitting around listening to droning teachers while Stefan was in danger wasn't an option anymore.<p>

She threw some clothes into a bag. She grabbed her journal, some of Stefan's journals, and a photo of Stefan, one of her favorites, where he was looking at the camera with a goofy expression on his face, playing around just for her. Some other essentials were packed, and then she quietly walked downstairs, pausing only to place a note on the kitchen table before leaving.

The note is brief, as are the phone messages she leaves for Bonnie and Caroline: "I'm going to find Stefan. Please don't worry about me or try to find me. I love you."

As she sat in the car, trying to figure out if this was a complete suicide mission, Elena figured she only had a few options: wait at home, continuing to mope and expecting nightmares, waiting for Damon to call with good news. Or she could do this crazy, stupid, foolish thing that will probably get her killed and track down Klaus and Stefan herself.

Choosing option B, she headed for the highway, the image of Stefan making her drive faster.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN**: Apologies for the delay- school and a fun case of writer's block got in the way yet again. I'm not entirely happy with this chapter, but hopefully the wait won't be as long next time! Thanks for the comments on chapter one- you guys are lovely! As always, I don't own anything but the plot.

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><p>From the very beginning, Klaus would invade Stefan's mind and control his dreams, turning them into nightmares. Every night a different horror story appeared in Stefan's mind, usually centering on Elena. One night he relived Klaus draining Elena over and over, watching the life fade from her eyes and her body go limp, Klaus lifting his mouth from Elena's neck with her blood around his mouth. Other nights he got to see Elena die in numerous ways- car crash, drowning, fire, Caroline or Damon losing control, a chandelier falling onto her (Klaus had a thing about Phantom of the Opera). Sometimes he just got to watch Elena lost or crying, and he was unable to reach her. Other dreams revolve around Damon; forcing blood on him, watching Giuseppe Salvatore yelling at Damon. Dreams about Damon and Elena together, with Elena deciding that Damon's the one she loved and Stefan was merely the distraction. Dreams about Stefan killing Elena or Damon or Caroline or Bonnie or all of them.<p>

"Really, Stefan, I have no idea why you're so upset with me," Klaus said one morning. "You have only yourself to blame. If you had had more blood- human blood, none of that animal stuff... well. It's just a sign of weakness on your part, weakness that I am helping you to correct."

So apparently the nightmares were a sort of strength training as well as being entertaining for Klaus. They begin to have a numbing quality; he slept and saw Elena die and woke and it no longer stopped him from going about the day.

Mystic Falls began to seem more and more like a dream, some sort of fabled Brigadoon that Stefan could never return to. After a few weeks with Klaus, weeks of killing innocent people just for fun, using people as blood-banks and toys, Stefan felt his resistance lessening. He no longer daydreamed of life back home; he no longer wondered how Elena was doing or if Damon had recovered or how Alaric was dealing with Jenna's death. He didn't think about Mystic Falls at all. Instead he thought about blood, who they would find that night to play with.

It was easier that way. Easier to tell himself that they were absolutely fine without it, and that that doesn't matter at all to him.

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><p>Elena sipped her third black coffee of the morning. Sleep these days was rare and she needed to be alert for this meeting. More than alert. Crafty. Cunning. Scheming. Conniving. Like Katherine.<p>

"Hello, Elena," her doppleganger appeared by the table, her hair freshly curled and her make-up perfect. Next to Katherine's chic clothes and haughty stance, Elena felt like a dull copy, a frail reflection. One with huge bags under her eyes.

"Hello Katherine," Elena said hesitantly. Not a great start.

Katherine sighed as she (grudgingly) sat down, looking bored and irritated. "I have to ask- how did you find me?"

"I have my ways," Elena replied coldly, her voice steadier this time. Katherine merely rolled her eyes in response. That was actually the easy part- they'd known where Katherine had been for weeks thanks to Bonnie's tracking spell. Damon had followed her for a while, convinced she knew where Stefan and Klaus were; ultimately he abandoned that particular hunt because, as he put it, Katherine now only cared about shoes. Shoes and seducing her latest toys.

"Right. 'Your ways'... also known as that witch of yours," Katherine's lip curled. When the waiter brought over her drink, she flashed him a brilliant smile, one that managed to be coy and inviting. With lunch covered, Katherine folded her hands and smiled at her double. "So. Elena. How are things in Mystic Falls?"

"Fine," Elena replied, not wanting to give Katherine an edge.

"How's Jeremy doing? It must be so rough at home, with no parents, no Jenna, no John... and no you. I hope you're in touch with him-wouldn't want him worrying about his only living family member," Katherine said, concern dripping from her voice.

"I'm not here to talk about Jeremy," Elena snapped, her face flushing with anger. Katherine simply smiled. "And your friends. Caroline and Bonnie and... oh, that delicious boy, Matt. Those eyes..." she sighed. "I was surprised, Elena, you really do have...well, good taste in men- Matt and Stefan and Damon..."

Elena flinched and Katherine, of course, noticed. "Things aren't going well with Damon? He always was a little... volatile."

"Damon's just a friend."

"A friend who killed your brother, your father at least, what, twice, turned your mother, and hurt just about all of your friends? A friend who doesn't seem to be looking very hard for his brother?"

"He's looking for Stefan."

"He's not looking very hard then."

"You know where he is," Elena felt a spark of hope flare through her.

"I knew where he was," Katherine corrected her. "I have no idea where they are now."

Elena mulled this statement over. It was entirely possible that Katherine was, for once, telling the truth, that maybe weeks ago she had even been with them- after all, Damon hadn't watched her for very long. Not that that was a comforting thought. Then again, it was Katherine she was dealing with- while it's possible Katherine's telling the truth, it's not bloody likely.

"You're lying," Elena stated calmly.

Katherine simply raised an eyebrow.

"You're afraid of Klaus, and that's smart- obviously. You've been running from him for, what, five hundred years? I don't think you're gonna stop now, especially when he's more powerful than ever."

Katherine's face had lost some of its haughtiness. "Nice points, but you forget- he did let me go."

"True, but for how long? How long until he decides to come after you- until they both decide to come after you? Stefan's not your biggest fan," Elena smiled slightly. "I'll bet they won't kill you quickly. They'll probably torture you, just like what Klaus did to your family-"

Katherine seized Elena's wrist, digging her nails into Elena's skin. "Don't talk about my family," she hissed.

"What makes you think," Katherine muttered after a minute, "that Klaus- or Stefan- won't just kill you immediately?"

"I don't know," Elena admitted. "But I have to try."

"How optimistic," Katherine sneered, relaxing her grip on Elena just slightly.

"So, where are they?" Elena asked, tired of Katherine's tricks, sick of Katherine all together.

Katherine glanced at the counter, eyeing the waiters, probably plotting to fuck one and eat the other. Or fuck both and eat both. "I met Isobel here," she said, almost absentmindedly to herself. "You're more like than you realize?"

Elena kept her gaze steady; now was so not the time to think about Isobel.

"If I help you, what do I get?" Katherine said at last and Elena almost cheered.

"I don't send Bonnie and Damon here to kill you."

"And here I thought you wanted to find them."

"What do you want?"

"A spell so no one, and I mean no one, can find me," Katherine said instantly. "Bonnie can do it."

"If I get Bonnie to agree, what will you give me?"

Katherine smirked. "I will hand you over to Klaus myself."

Elena stared at her, trying to figure out if this was just another mind game or lie, some sort of diabolical plan with a million plan Bs.

"Fine," Elena said, despite the million warning bells going off in her head, despite the fact that this was perhaps the stupidest thing she'd ever attempted. "Do we have a deal?"

Katherine smiled. "I think we do."

Almost pleasantly, they exchanged numbers, with Katherine promising to be in touch. She left Elena seated at the table, more than ready for another coffee, and sauntered out knowing every eye was on her.

Outside, Katherine had to bite her lip to keep from laughing and fight to keep from dancing. Everything was going according to plan.

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><p>Klaus could leave Stefan alone now without compelling him not to leave; often they'd spend their days apart, Stefan picking up dinner while Klaus... actually, Stefan wasn't entirely sure what Klaus was up to. Probably threatening people or hunting or making fun of babies or shoplifting or hacking into a security-base or stealing children's ice cream. Something evil. And Stefan didn't really care.<p>

When they did go out together, Stefan was a glorified wingman/servant/personal bodyguard. He threatened people, werewolves in particular lately; Klaus had become obsessed with werewolves and Stefan didn't know why. Nor did he care. The only time he truly felt alive anymore was when he got to hunt and torture and kill. Anything else, and he really couldn't give a damn.

Klaus wasn't fond of that; he thinks it makes for dull company.

And Stefan could really not care less about that.

He didn't care about anything anymore.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN**: Apologies for the delay- life/writer's block got in the way and it took me awhile to figure out where I was going with this story. It won't be wrapped up before season 3 starts, but I should have an update fairly soon. This chapter is extra-long- apologies for that as well.

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><p>Elena had never considered herself to be a patient person; sitting around and waiting for things to happen had never been her style. She preferred to get things done, for things to happen sooner rather than later, though this seldom ended well. So waiting for Katherine, of all people, to lead her to Stefan and Klaus was driving her completely insane.<p>

To pass the time Elena occupied herself with the volumes of Stefan's journals that she had brought with her. Before he left she wouldn't have done this, not without his permission and maybe not even with that, but like so many other things (security, stability) privacy had long ago become a thing of the past. For the past months she'd been working her way through Stefan's life; reading his very first journal (started at age ten and consisting of his desire to be more like Damon) to his latest (abandoned half-way through. Most of the entries mentioned her, and she'd blushed at some, cried at others). The last entry had been written after John and Jenna's funeral, and she had to force herself to read it:

_Elena could barely stand at the cemetery- she's sleeping now. Since the sacrifice, since the lake-house really, I can hardly stand to let her out of my sight. It's as if she might slip away or vanish too. I need to keep hold of her. I need to tell her how much I love her. I need to protect her. __But I need to save Damon. I'm the reason why he's like this, he's hurt because of me, and so I have to save him._

_I can't lose him too_.

Elena's sorry that she didn't understand the lengths Stefan would go to save Damon. Maybe if she had they wouldn't be in this position now.

She checked the time again and continued to wait.

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><p>Klaus was in an especially good mood that day, humming loudly and cracking especially bad jokes. At times he simply cackled to himself and clapped his hands with glee, reading an email or text on his phone over and over again. Stefan didn't know- or want to know- the cause for Klaus' celebration.<p>

"Sometimes things don't go according to plan," Klaus said importantly as he played solitaire. Stefan barely even glanced at him, randomly drawing but mainly thinking about blood. "For whatever reason, be it backstabbing betrayals or the random rain storm. The simplest plan can end in complete disaster.

"And sometimes," he smiled as he won the game, "everything falls into place and the plan which seems risky turns out to work exactly as you planned."

"Your plan for world domination going well?" Stefan asked wearily.

"I'm impressed- you were actually listening. Although world domination is so dull when you think about it. Why conquer the world when there's so much fun to be had as it is?," Klaus stretched. "I want you to get dinner today... something fresh and nubile. I'm tired of dining on the Fowlers, willing as they are. But take care of our little...problem first."

Stefan automatically reached for his jacket, eager to start hunting. For days Klaus had kept him at their latest residence, not allowing him to go out or have fun with the residents. It had been a very boring couple of days.

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><p>Elena must have read the same page of <em>Wuthering Heights<em> about a hundred times and she still couldn't keep track of a single word. Just as she was about to give up and search for lunch, someone sat besides her on the park bench.

"Ready to see your beloved again?" Katherine wore a ridiculously oversized pair of sunglasses and customary sly grin. "Oh, and Klaus. I know, I know, he's such a buzz-kill, but they come as a pair now."

Elena gazed steadily at her, knowing full well she was probably walking into some trap. "Where are they?" she asked.

"Hello Elena."

Even three months after her death, three months after watching him kill Jenna, Klaus' voice still frightened her, still made Elena clench her fists and bite her lip to keep from screaming. The cold elegance of his voice was so terrifyingly calm with quiet menace bubbling underneath. Slowly, Elena forced herself to turn and look into the eyes of the man- the were-vamp- who had killed her. Smiling at her, Klaus' haughty stance and calculating stare were the same, but there was an extra gleam to his eyes, a certain smugness. Behind him stood a burly man; either Klaus had a new witch or he now walked around with bodyguards.

"You're looking reasonably well," he said. "A little tired, but overall looking quite well for someone I killed."

"Your idea of a compliment sucks," Elena informed him.

"He can't compliment others- only himself," Katherine sniped. She stretched around Elena to meet Klaus' eyes. "You have what you want, Klaus, and now I'm afraid I have a lunch appointment-"

"What makes you think I'm done with you, Katerina?" Klaus asked and Elena felt Katherine freeze, her gleeful manner slip away.

"Klaus," Katherine spoke in a delicate voice that didn't entirely mask her growing panic. "You said if I got you the doppleganger-"

"Now that I think about it," Klaus stood and lazily circled to the back of the bench, placing his hands on both of their shoulders. "Stefan might enjoy having both of you around. So would I, for that matter."

He let that statement rest for a moment, allowing Katherine and Elena to both individually panic, imagining what Klaus would do to both of them. Then he let out an enormous bark of laughter.

"Only playing with you, my lovelies," he chuckled. "Miss Gilbert is undeniably the one Mr. Salvatore is pining for.

"But you, my dear," his hand tightened on Katherine's shoulder. "I have other plans for you."

He walked around and faced her, eyes changing as he instructed, "You will go with Robert. You will not attempt to leave. You will wait for me. You will..."

You will not pass go and you will not collect $200, Elena thought as the compulsion went on and on.

Katherine repeated the instructions, looking absolutely furious with herself as she took Robert's hand, who didn't exactly seem pleased with how things were developing either.

"Let's go, my dear," Klaus offered Elena his hand.

Elena looked equally furious as she took it.

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><p>Like a perfect gentleman, Klaus escorted Elena to his car, helped her in, took her cell phone, and informed her that if she attempted to escape or call for help Stefan would suffer for it.<p>

"Where is he?" she asked while Klaus started driving.

"Doing an errand for me," Klaus shrugged.

"What the hell are you doing to him?"

"You'll see for yourself. I assure you, he does miss you. Well, he mopes around a lot. It's quite boring."

Knowing it was foolish to expect rational answers, she asked anyways, "Why did you take Stefan with you?"

"I needed a Ripper," was Klaus' instant reply.

So the dreams were true- or at least partly true. Thoughts of what she knew about Stefan's Ripper days stormed though her head, accounts of dead bodies, bare accounts of torture and hunts with an underlining thread of glee about them, Stefan enjoying inflicting pain and killing people. It's okay, she told herself, he came back from that before, he can beat it again.

Elena looked away from him, wondering if he really was invincible now or if a flamethrower would have any effect. "Why did you kill my aunt?" she asked softly. "Any vampire would have worked, why did you have to kill her?"

"The symmetry, Miss Gilbert, was simply too brilliant to resist," Klaus remarked and Elena flinched. "And she seemed like such a lonely woman. So little to live for."

Elena couldn't decide if Klaus was telling the truth or merely trying to hurt her.

"Why do you want Katherine? she asked, more out of curiosity than any real concern.

Klaus sighed impatiently. "I don't want her, Elena. Katerina is nothing more than a selfish whore who, quite frankly, deserves a very painful death."

Makes her perfect for you, Elena thought, at the same time surprised to find herself agreeing with him. Agreeing with Klaus? The world was doomed. "So you need her," she said quietly, "like you need me."

Klaus smiled. "Elementary, my dear."

The idea that Klaus needed both of them for something made Elena shiver.

Eventually Klaus pulled into the parking lot of a seedy looking bar and looked at Elena. "I'm afraid I have some business to take care of, Miss Gilbert. I know, I know, it's dreadfully impolite and inconvenient, but you know how it is..."

Reluctantly, Elena followed him into the bar; inside it was even worse than the exterior.

"Werewolves," Klaus muttered as they walked to a table occupied by a blonde woman. "We could have met at a nice restaurant, but no, it has to be some dank, disgusting place."

"Seemed to fit the purpose," the woman sniffed. She gazed cooly at Klaus seeming unintimidated and yet terrified all at once; her gaze flickered over Elena but barely seemed to take her in at all. "I though you were bringing Dmitri here."

Klaus smiled. "All in good time, Miss Price. Patience is a virtue, after all."

She scowled and picked up her beer, swallowing the entire glass in one gulp. "I brought what you wanted."

"Excellent," Klaus held out his hand. Elena watched carefully as the woman pulled a grubby little package out of her bag. It was wrapped in paper that was a plain, ordinary brown and was tied clumsily with twine; it was small, maybe the size of a jewelry box. Elena sincerely hoped it wasn't a Sorcerer's Stone, although Klaus, being immortal and a hybrid, should already have all the immortality he wanted.

"Aren't you going to open it?" Elena asked, curious about the contents in spite of herself.

"Trust really isn't part of your vocabulary," Klaus said as he put it in his coat pocket. "Now, as for my part of the bargain..."

The woman visibly exhaled. "Dmitri."

"Yes," Klaus nodded. "If you would be so kind as to come with us, I'll lead you straight to him."

"I thought-"

"Plans change. Shall we, ladies?"

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><p>Although she didn't know what was going on, Elena didn't have a good feeling about the wooded area or the situation. Klaus walked ahead, a jaunty spring to his steps while Miss Price stuck close to him, shoulders slumped like she just wanted to get the whole "adventure" with Klaus over with. Elena trailed behind, keeping her distance, wondering who Miss Price was and how she had gotten mixed up with Klaus.<p>

The space was too quiet, completely devoid of birds or other animals. Slowly Elena realized that the rusty stains on the grass was actually dried blood. Some of the trees looked as though they'd been attacked in a battle and there was an arm dangling from a branch...

Elena saw the body- the pieces of the body- and gagged, her body sinking to the ground. Blood rushed to her head and she saw rather than heard the woman scream and rush to a part of the body- the man's head was barely connected to the torso half- and kneel over it, wailing. As if paralyzed, Elena watched as Klaus calmly struck the woman and yanked out her heart, as easily as plucking a blueberry from a bush.

Calmly, he walked over to Elena. "Are you done?" he asked her as he wiped his hand on his trousers.

* * *

><p>Klaus all too cheerfully informed her that the body- Dmitri- was Stefan's work.<p>

"Quite handy, your Mr. Salvator, even more violent than I thought he could be," Klaus told her jubilantly. "I really must get him to torture someone in front of you- there's such an art, such a wonderful pleasure he gets from tearing people's limbs off while they're still conscious..."

"Stop it!" Elena shouted, fighting the urge to gag yet again. "Please, just stop," she whispered and Klaus smiled at her.

She tried telling herself it was all under control and that everything would be all right, telling herself that Klaus was lying and Stefan wasn't like that. It didn't help.

"You could have let her go," Elena muttered.

Snorting, Klaus countered, "And have her come after me? I don't think so."

"She wasn't going to attack you."

"Oh please, that little display of grief was nothing more than a show designed to manipulate me into thinking she was too distracted to think about attacking me."

"Just because other people have actual emotions and grieve when they lose someone they love-"

Klaus's hand snaked out and seized her wrist, twisting it and nearly breaking it. As Elena cried out in pain, Klaus kept his eyes on the road ahead, never once looking at her.

"Now might be a good time for that silent treatment you do so well."

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><p>The house was a larger, more ostentatious version of the Salvatore mansion, with bright lights blazing in every window and elaborate flower gardens edging the neat lawn. It was also incredibly secluded, which had probably been nice for the owners and was better for Klaus, since any victims would have no chance of escaping.<p>

"Home sweet home," Klaus announced.

To Elena's horror, the place wasn't deserted; Klaus introduced her to the owners, Mr. and Mrs. Fowler, with obvious glee and they gave her empty greetings in return, obviously compelled. And obviously snacked on.

Klaus escorted her to the carefully decorated living room and announced, "We'll wait here for the gallant Mr. Salvatore and dinner. I had been hoping it would be on the table when we arrived, but perhaps a quick snack would suffice.

"Oh, don't pout," he scolded her. "At least they don't have children. Only those irritating dogs."

"Go to hell," Elena spat.

It seemed like it took forever before the front door creaked open.

"Ah, here he is now," Klaus said.

Elena felt her heart start to pound (surely Klaus could hear that) and she curled her fists, nervous as hell about seeing Stefan again.

"Success?" Klaus called out as he crossed to the door.

"Of course," Stefan's voice answered. Elena slowly stood up to see him- it was Stefan. Yet it wasn't- covered in blood, thinner, a hardened look to his face. As he came into the room, he barely even looked at his surroundings.

"It took you long enough," Klaus grumbled.

"The werewolves took longer than I thought," Stefan explained.

"They do tend to do that," Klaus sighed. "And who is this charming creature?" he asked, indicating someone behind Stefan.

Stefan smiled, a thin smirk that scared Elena. "This is Lily from the flower shop."

"How ironic," Klaus remarked. "And I believe you know my guest, the lovely Elena Gilbert."

For a moment the smirk slid off of Stefan's face. He turned slowly to Elena, his eyes containing fear and horror.

"Interesting how you didn't tell me she was alive," Klaus remarked nonchalantly while Stefan continued staring. "I had to hear about it from Katerina. She was more than happy to confirm those pesky rumors you've been so insistently denying all this time. She told me weeks ago, and I was so pleased to learn she was telling the truth for once."

"I..." Stefan started, then stopped. He slowly walked over to Elena, circling her and eyeing up and down her body while Elena remained still, clenching her fists and biting her lip. "Why do we need her?" he finally asked, sounding bored. "I thought you only needed Katherine."

Klaus sighed. "I said I needed the doppleganger. And since there are two, I need both, unless there's another you'd like to tell me about..."

"I hope not," Stefan muttered. He came to a stop in front of Elena, continuing to stare at her. He caught sight of how she cradled her aching wrist. "What happened to her?"

"Oh, you know how it is," Klaus replied, his eyes hardening though his voice remained neutral.

Elena stared at Stefan, knowing that if she looked bad, he looked worse; honestly, she thought if he did go back on human blood, he'd look better- healthier, the way Damon normally looked. Instead Stefan seemed gaunt, and looked as if he was barely alive at all. Gingerly, he reached out and examined her injured wrist, gently pulling her arm closer and fingering her skin with the lightest possible touch.

"Stefan..." Klaus said, a touch of warning in his voice.

Dropping her wrist, Stefan smiled again, the same smirk that contained no pleasure or happiness. "It was thoughtful of you to bring her," he leaned in against her neck. "This will be such a treat."

The next hour seemed to last a lifetime. Stefan talked about the werewolves he'd killed that day in gruesome detail, mechanically talking about ripping bodies apart and tearing out still beating hearts. A slight smile lingered on his face as he did so, as if he enjoyed reliving the events. Elena wasn't sure if this debrief was normal or if Klaus was just torturing her, but Stefan certainly didn't seem to need any encouragement to elaborate on one particular kill that lasted several hours and involved pulling the guy's entrails out while the victim watched.

"Beautiful!" Klaus kept saying. "Ah, to have been there!"

He then asked Stefan about Lily the flower-shop girl/dinner, prompting Stefan to launch into a tale of flirting/stalking and, apparently, a lot of resistance on Stefan's part to not taste-test her.

Elena felt herself grow numb listening, her heart sinking quickly.

Eventually Klaus clapped his hands, apparently tired of listening to someone else talk. He announced dinner would be served in five minutes.

"Perhaps you'd like to escort Miss Gilbert to her room?" he suggested to STefan. "I'm sure you two are just dying to get reacquainted! Unless- that is- you can manage to to restrain yourself and not kill her?"

"I'll do my best," Stefan answered sarcastically.

"Wonderful!"

Stefan didn't say anything as he led Elena upstairs, past more family photos of dogs and more carefully coordinated rugs. Elena was silent as well, too horrified and cold and numb to say anything, much less anything coherent. Her wrist throbbed and she held it carefully as she studied the back of Stefan's neck, trying to figure out what he was thinking, how he was feeling. If he ever thought of anything besides blood anymore.

The room Stefan brought her to was luckily devoid of personal objects or family photos; it was a small, perfectly adequate guest room. Elena suddenly wondered if the objects and furniture would spring to life and start singing to her, but figured the situation wasn't quite that Beauty and the Beast, even if there were similarities. Silently, Stefan got her to sit on the bed and after a moment he sat besides her.

"How's your wrist?" he asked quietly. "How bad is the pain."

Startled, Elena answered, "Not bad."

Stefan raised an eyebrow and asked, "May I see it?"

Hesitantly Elena held it out and Stefan took it gently, using using light movements to push her sleeve up and touch the skin, almost caressing her wrist. Elena watched him, studied his face and noting how an almost peaceful, normal expression came over it as he touched her.

"It's not broken," he said at last. "Sprained, probably. I'll get you something for it."

He went to the bathroom and returned quickly with an ice bandage, glass of water, and a painkiller. As he started wrapping her wrist he muttered, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Attempted rescue mission," Elena said and Stefan snorted.

"Bring any reinforcements?"

"I came alone."

Stefan frowned. "You came alone to rescue me from an Original?"

"I know it wasn't the smartest thing to do-"

"You're just lucky Klaus actually needs you for something because otherwise..."

"What?" Elena challenged. "He'd have you kill me?"

Stefan didn't answer but his jaw clenched and his grip on her arm tightened. By now the numbness had left her and the fury had taken over. "And you would too, seeing as how you're Klaus' little minion, doing whatever he says, killing and torturing people. You could at least try to fight back!"

Stefan looked up at her, his green eyes finally meeting hers. "What do you think I'm trying to do?"

For a long moment they stared at each other, as if challenging the other to back down.

Stefan dropped his eyes first. "At first Klaus threatened me- kill this person or he'd return to Mystic Falls and kill Damon or Jeremy or anyone I cared about. It- I tried to fight it, to fight him, but it just became easier to... not think about what I was doing. Then I started to enjoy it- I mean, I'm trying, Elena, I'm trying to fight it, but I enjoy it too."

He smiled, a different smile than before, small and rueful. "Although, with you here, it could go either way."

"What do you mean?" Elena asked softly.

"Well, Klaus can use you- all he'll have to do is threaten you and I'll have to do anything, everything. But then with you here..." he trailed off, lost in thought about something.

"Those people matter, Stefan," Elena murmured.

"I know that!" he nearly shouted and started pacing. "I know that," he repeated, his voice calmer. Visibly forcing himself to stop pacing, he looked directly at her. "How's Damon?"

Elena bit her lip. "He's healthy, but he-"

"Don't tell me he actually misses me. Oh, wait, no he can't miss me- that would imply caring about me," he scoffed.

"He does care about you," Elena insisted. "He's looking for you-"

"Must not be looking very hard," Stefan snorted. "Must be spending an awful lot of time around you."

He didn't miss Elena's flinch. His voice took on a harder tone as he asked, "What?"

"I kissed him," Elena admitted, staring at the wall beyond Stefan. This wasn't how she'd wanted to tell him, this wasn't the right way to handle it. "He was dying and I, I don't know, I thought it would bring him some peace..."

Stefan's face was cold and blank, frightening in its lack of emotion. "

"That was all it was," she added. "Stefan, please, just say something..."

His face was perfectly still as he spoke. "Klaus."

"What-"

Klaus knocked on the door, a spot of blood on his collar. "Having fun?" He didn't seem to expect an answer. "Now, Elena dear, we have a few details of your visit to work out."

"Visit?" Elena muttered.

"If you try to contact any of your friends or family members- you do still have some, right?- well, I'll be forced to send our friendly Ripper along to take care of all of them," he smiled. "Stefan, you're missing a lovely dinner..."

Stefan nodded brusquely. "Glad you approve of my choice."

"I'll have someone send you something up," Klaus told Elena. "Unless you'd care to join us?"

Elena looked bleakly at Stefan, who maintained a perfectly blank look on his face. "I'll stay here," she said softly, feeling the defeat in her voice as her body sagged onto the bed.

"Very well," Klaus remarked and left, Stefan hesitated before leaving, but closed the door without saying anything.

Elena gazed at the closed door. You're with Stefan, she told herself. She'd gotten what she'd wanted.

* * *

><p>Elena had memorized every inch of the ceiling; she gazed up at it, trying to convince herself that not everything was as bad as it seemed. Sure, Klaus wanted her here, but that didn't mean the ominous foreboding was anything other than her unease of being around Jenna's killer. Okay, STefan seemed like he'd given into the Ripper completely, but she could bring him back. She'd done it before- okay, Lexi had done it before, but that only meant it could be done.<p>

She wasn't doing a very good job of convincing herself. Stefan's coldness and the detached way he spoke frightened her as much as the killings did; she expected Klaus to act like a selfish bastard, but she expected Stefan to have some remorse and compassion rather than behaving like an obedient robot. He'd turned it off, she thought. Off his compassion and empathy and feelings.

A sudden scream sent Elena scrambling for the door. It sounded like Stefan. Like Stefan was in horrible pain- she'd never heard such pain come from him and she frantically ran down the dark hallway, tripping over her own feet and getting rug burns in the process. Where the hell was he?

"Stefan?" she yelled. The house was too big, there were too many doors, it seemed to take her forever to find the right one.

The sight inside wasn't the one she'd envisioned. Stefan wasn't in chains or held by vervain-soaked ropes. Stefan didn't have stakes protruding from his body. No, Stefan was lying on a bed, looking fine except for the tortured look on his face. He screamed again, sounding completely terrified.

"Interesting what dreams can bring out in a person, isn't it?" Klaus calmly asked her, creeping up behind her. Ignoring him, Elena rushed to Stefan's side and shook him, yelled at him that it was all right, everything was okay, to just wake up.

"So caring of you, but so useless," Klaus remarked. He lounged against the doorframe, a cold smile on his face.

"What are you doing to him?" Elena asked, horrified as Stefan screamed again.

Klaus scowled. "You're very quick to assign blame to others, did you know that? Besides, it's all for Mr. Salvatore's benefit."

She grabbed Stefan's hand and stroked his face, her voice escalating as she cried out, trying to wake him up and failing miserably.

"It won't work," Klaus commented in a bored tone.

"Whatever it is, stop it," Elena yelled as Stefan screamed again. "It's okay, Stefan, love, it's okay," she whispered to him. "Baby, shh, it's okay."

"It's only compulsion," Klaus said. "Nothing to be alarmed about."

Nothing to be alarmed about? Elena clumsily shifted Stefan so he lay against her body; hugging him close and trying to soothe him.

"Very touching," Klaus assured her. "But this is all for-"

"If you say it's for Stefan's own good I will hurt you," Elena glared at him. Klaus raised an eyebrow and smiled. Elena turned her attention fully to Stefan, ignoring Klaus, almost forgetting about him. She stroke his hair and hugged him tightly, tightening her grasp whenever he screamed and whispering in his ear.

"Show me," Elena suddenly said. "Show me what he's seeing."

"And deprive you of uselessly comforting him? I think not," Klaus started to close the door. "He'll wake up in the morning and be right as rain."

Elena curled around Stefan, tucking her head under his chin and holding tightly to his shirt, waiting for morning to come, listening to him scream in agony as if something was tearing him apart from within.

* * *

><p>The nightmares all had similar endings- Stefan killing Elena. Stefan killing Damon. Stefan killing Jeremy while Elena watched. And on and on they went, until he killed everyone he loved. Damon and Elena kissing and writhing on a bed, Stefan killing both of them.<p>

Stefan slowly woke, faintly registering the light as well as the oddly familiar pressure on his chest; it took him a minute to realize Elena was draped across him, her fingers buried in his hair. Her bandaged arm was looped around his waist and his shirt had pulled up, he could feel her hand resting on his hip.

His first instinct was to throw her off, get as far from her as possible before he could hurt her. Well, physically hurt her. The possibilities of mental torture were endless. It'd be better for both of them if he got as far from her as possible. He didn't want to frighten her, couldn't bear the thought of hurting her, couldn't think about the look on her face yesterday when he talked about killing the werewolves, the horror and disgust, the slow realization that Stefan really was a monster. His realization that he was monster, a killer and a coward who deserved to die a thousand times, a thousand painful deaths. He can't hurt her. She'd be better off if she didn't care about him, better off and safer, less vulnerable and fragile. She'd be better off if she'd despised him.

But he can't hurt her.

Yet Stefan didn't move or throw her off or anything. He stayed there with Elena, indulging in the comfort of her body wrapped around his, the way she gently tugged her hair and stroked his face. In his touch he almost felt like his old self, like he could the capacity to love again. To feel again. To feel more than just lust for blood. To maybe even forgive himself one day, although that would take more than just a hug and kiss from Elena.

Reluctantly he opened his eyes; he could hear Klaus downstairs getting breakfast and knew that if he didn't put in an appearance Klaus would come searching.

"Elena," he whispered, his voice coming out scratchy and hoarse.

Instantly her fingers disentangled themselves from her hair and she peered up at him, keeping her other hand firmly on his hip. "Hi," she spoke cautiously. "Are you... how are you feeling?"

Stefan hesitated, suddenly unsure of the direction to take with her. In the silence he's all too aware of Elena's eyes on him while Klaus loudly feasted on someone- Mrs. Fowler from the sound of it.

"Fine," he said, purposefully making his tone flat and blank. "The usual".

"He does that to you every night?" Elena asked, automatically reaching for his hand. "Why?"

"Why not? He likes to torture people for fun," Stefan pulled away, unable to look at her. She brought it all back- the consequences to months of training himself not to feel.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I'm sorry I didn't come sooner, I'm sorry he's doing this to you-"

Stefan had to force himself to walk out of the room, away from Elena and downstairs to Klaus. Even now, when he wasn't fully capable of feeling for others, walking away from her hurt.

"Ah, good morning, Mr. Salvatore," Klaus lifted his head from Mrs. Fowler's neck to greet him. He smiled, blood dripping down his chin. "So nice to see that Miss Gilbert is still eager to join you in your bed."

And Stefan, hating himself for being a coward, forced himself to laugh and say, "Eager and willing, as always."


	4. Chapter 4

**AN**: Here's a (tiny) update- hopefully I'll be adding another (longer) chapter over the weekend. Thanks so much for the comments/reviews- you guys are amazing!

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><p>After the first night, Elena would find herself running to Stefan's room after the screams started. After the first night she would ask, beg Klaus to stop, told him that if he wanted to torture someone that much to compel her dreams instead; surely, she thought, Klaus would be more than happy to torture her as well. He politely declined the offer. So she'd go to Stefan's room and climb into bed besides him, stroke his face and hold his hand, wind her legs around his and trace his tattoo, never knowing if her presence helped.<p>

The third day of her "visit" Elena decided she wouldn't wait for Stefan's torment to begin before going to him; as soon as it was dark she went to Stefan's room, settling in bed with a book, intending to wait for him and attempt to talk to him (he'd been avoiding her). Instead she fell asleep, the exhaustion and pain taking over.

_She was with Stefan, but it wasn't Stefan. His face was different- human, but feral- and he held something. She blanched when she saw it was a hand and looked at Stefan to see a resigned look appear on his face._

_"Here," he gave her a ring. Damon's. "I killed him, just like before," he said tonelessly. Elena stared and stared, reaching for him. "Stefan..."_

_"I love you," he smiled and they kissed slowly. "I'll miss you."_

_"What-" she started to ask when he slipped his own ring off and handed it to her. He took one last look at her and then opened the door, letting brilliant sunshine into the room, across his body._

_"No!" Elena screamed, but it was too late. Stefan was gone. "No!" she screamed again and again, as if by screaming she would bring him back. "No!"_

"Elena, shhh," she suddenly heard. "It's okay, love, it's okay."

Elena's eyes fluttered open and she was rewarded with a close-up view of Stefan's bare chest. His arms were wrapped tightly around her and he continued whispering softly in her ear, stroking her back and her hair. A dream, she realized slowly, a nightmare. Like the ones at home. She closed her eyes again, confused and still exhausted, not afraid this time of falling asleep, not with Stefan there, even if it wasn't _her_ Stefan. Although right now he seemed a lot more like her Stefan than he had the past few days.

A door opened quietly and Klaus said, "Well, this is a change. Normally it's the other way around."

"What did you do to her?" Stefan hissed.

"Nothing, absolutely nothing."

"Then why-"

"People do have nightmares, Stefan. It happens."

"Just... just don't hurt her. Please, Klaus, don't ever-"

"Don't worry, Stefan, I'll leave that all to you. Goodnight."

Stefan was perfectly still for a moment. He knew it was foolish, letting Klaus know so easily that when it came to Elena he couldn't truly fight the emotions, no matter how hard he tried, and that when it came to Elena all Klaus had to do was look at her for Stefan to agree to do anything, everything to protect her. It was dangerous for both of them.

Klaus claimed he had brought Elena here because he needed her for some ritual or task or something (he'd never really explained it, actually), but Stefan suspected it was to ensure that Stefan would obey him; that and to try to break Elena, show her the monster Stefan had become and stamp out her hope completely- Klaus tended to enjoy all kinds of torture, physical, psychological, anything as long as he got to watch someone crumble.

Ever since Klaus had brought Elena here, Stefan had been fighting to retain the cold veneer he'd perfected over the months, to show Klaus that he too had no weaknesses anymore, that he really had turned off his emotions. He'd describe in detail how he had killed someone in front of Elena, forcing himself not to watch her color drain and her eyes fill with horror. He'd walk by her and not give her a second glance, crack crude jokes about their relationship within her hearing. Anything to drive her away, anything to make her stop loving him. Yet in the mornings she would always be there, holding him and looking at him with those eyes, the ones he can't escape.

Earlier, when he had walked in to his room, the sight of Elena sleeping in his bed had both terrified and pleased him. Ignoring his first instinct (snuggle in next to her, watch her and work up the nerve to kiss her), he forced himself to take a shower. Not long after, he'd heard her- not screaming, just thrashing and crying; that was more than enough to rush to her side, barely stopping to grab a towel. The most- the least- he could do was hold her, just like she had done for him.

And now Klaus knew how he still felt, knew that Stefan still cared and loved Elena. He'd probably always known, despite Stefan's (admittedly lackluster) efforts. That wasn't going to help either of them.

Still, he held her closer and closed his eyes, relieved that for one night he wouldn't experience Klaus' terrifying nightmares and still hold Elena.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN**: Thanks so much for your kind words/reviews so far! I'm not entirely happy with this chapter, but hopefully the next one will be better.

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><p>When morning came, Stefan didn't want to move. Being with Elena was difficult- all the pain and guilt came rushing back, overpowering everything else. But her body was so warm and comfortable nestled against his, her breath on his neck so sweet. It was tempting, really, to look at her neck and her veins and think about her blood, but then he remembered all those moments when she gave him her blood and he can't just take it, not now and maybe not ever.<p>

The night had been a good one; he hadn't slept, not wanting to risk enter a horrific nightmare again, not wanting to disturb her or wake her, but instead he chose the creepy option of watching Elena. Several times throughout the night she started to thrash about and whimper, whispering "Jenna" and "Mom" over and over and Stefan could only hold her closer, carefully keeping her injured wrist against his chest.

By morning their bodies were completely intertwined, automatically going back to the way things used to be. If he closed his eyes, Stefan could almost imagine that that was true, that they were at home and things were fine and normal, that this was just another day. When he opened his eyes it all came rushing back, and besides that, he suddenly realized Elena was awake, quietly watching him. Her eyes were bleary and exhausted and she clearly needed more sleep.

"Hey," he whispered. "Are you okay?"

"My wrist," she murmured.

Stefan, reluctant though he was, got out of bed and fetched a painkiller and water. Elena gratefully took the painkiller and sipped some water, muttering "Thank you," as she fell back against the pillows, almost immediately falling asleep again. After hesitating for a moment, Stefan crawled back under the covers, rubbing Elena's shoulder.

Klaus knocked on the door and Stefan immediately turned to glare at him, hissing "Shh". It was as if Klaus was merely Damon coming to interrupt and annoy them; judging by the expression on his face, Klaus wasn't pleased by this response.

"Come here," he hissed. "And put some damn clothes on."

Rolling his eyes, Stefan took his time, caressing Elena's hair and kissing her cheek (never mind the fact it was the first time he kissed her in months). He pulled on his jeans and kissed her again, more firmly this time, before joining Klaus, closing the door so Elena wouldn't be bothered.

"Touching," Klaus commented, the sarcasm heavy. "Very touching."

"Glad you approve," Stefan replied coldly and Klaus' eyes flashed.

"You like having Miss Gilbert around, don't you?"

Stefan raised an eyebrow, not saying anything. Klaus had that look on his face, where he looked wild and unpredictable; that was usually when he was at his most dangerous.

Suddenly, Klaus had vanished and the door to Elena's room was open.

Blanching, Stefan sped into the room, but Klaus was already standing over Elena, dangerously close to her.

"Don't," Stefan managed to get out, freaked out and terrified by how Klaus was looking at her. "Klaus, don't-"

"Don't what?" Klaus moved his hand through Elena's hair, lightly touching her shoulder.

Klaus touching Elena made Stefan furious. "Get away from her," he growled, and Klaus reached and took Elena's wrist in his hand. "Klaus, if you hurt her-"

"You'll tear me apart," Klaus smiled and moved to her neck.

Stefan had to fight to control himself. "Klaus," he pleaded, his heart in his throat. "Please, don't-"

He wanted to kill Klaus- stake him, rip his heart out, throw the body down a vervain and wolfsbane infested well, and blast that into smithereens. He wanted to rush at Klaus and tackle him, throw him out the window. But Klaus was fast, faster than Stefan, and his hand was right by Elena's neck and Klaus could so easily snap it before Stefan could reach him. Stefan's shoulders slump, his defeat physical painful but not nearly as painful as the thought of losing Elena.

"I don't think the Fowlers will be of much use to us anymore," Klaus said, almost absent-mindedly. "And there's a wolf in Denton who has something I want. Take care of all of them, will you? Today."

"What about you?" Stefan spat. If Klaus thought that Stefan was going to leave Elena in the place with only Klaus as company-

"Oh, relax. I have to get something for tonight."

He was up to something. Stefan hesitated and Klaus whispered, "You want to keep her safe, don't you?"

More than anything that was what Stefan wanted. So he closed his eyes and nodded, got his shirt and shoes and prepared for another day of killing, the only thing that would keep Elena safe.

* * *

><p>When Elena woke up, her entire body ached. Frowning, she stretched and realized she was still in Stefan's room, in Stefan's bed. Vaguely she recalled having nightmares and Stefan holding her, her wrist aching and Stefan getting her a painkiller before hugging her close again. Acting like Stefan normally did, in other words.<p>

The house was empty- no Stefan, no Klaus, no compelled Fowlers. Elena shivered slightly; surely the lack of people meant something was up, that Klaus was plotting something or carrying out some evil plot. Still, now seemed like the perfect opportunity to search among Klaus' things, see if maybe he was stupid enough to keep a detailed notebook entitled "My Evil Plot" written on it or a list headed by "Things that can kill me" . Naturally she didn't find anything like that (of course it wouldn't be that easy). Unlike Stefan, Klaus didn't keep a journal or diary or anything other than the bare necessities.

Except... there was a small box containing what looked like moonstones. Five of them. Frowning, Elena picked up each of them, studying the individual stones and trying to figure out what was so special about them, why Klaus needed them. Two of them didn't look like regular moonstones; instead they seemed to contain other stones, light blue ones that were barely noticeable.

What was he up to?

* * *

><p>Elena was searching the house for secret passages (some harebrained idea about finding one, knocking Stefan out, and sneaking him out of the house) when Klaus appeared besides her, holding a garment bag.<p>

"Glad to see you occupying yourself," Klaus commented. "I had worried you would sit around and mope. It would have been so boring."

"Because entertaining you is my top priority," Elena grumbled, automatically looking for Stefan.

"Mr. Salvatore is dressing, as should you," Klaus held out the bag and Elena eyed it with suspicion. "We're dressing for dinner, Miss Gilbert, as it's a rather special night."

"Special?" Elena asked, gingerly taking the bag.

Klaus smiled. "Oh, just a small celebration. We're having guests, my dear. Don't be late."

Klaus had an interesting understanding of the word "guests"; all women, obviously compelled to overlook the fact that Klaus and Stefan were feeding on them. Not killing them, not yet anyways, but Elena had no doubt that would come soon enough. Spread out in the living room, it made for a gruesome dinner party, and Klaus and Stefan were slowly working their way through all of the "guests", taking blood from necks and arms and legs, laughing and enjoying playing with their food.

It was enough to make Elena want to vomit. "Stefan," she said urgently, desperation in her voice. "Stefan, stop it."

He barely flicked a glance at her before moving onto the next woman.

"Jealous?" Klaus asked slyly as he draped a woman over the couch, her eyes glazed and foggy, and pulled another one to him, stroking her neck. "Maybe you should attend to Elena next, Stefan."

In the midst of preparing to feed Stefan froze, a look of pure terror flashing in his eyes. Almost immediately, though, his eyes cleared and became cold and devious. "Maybe I should," he agreed, slowly eyeing Elena up and down.

Slowly, he walked towards her and Elena found herself backing away from him. Stupid, she chastised herself as she felt her back hit book spines and the sharp edges of the bookshelf. Stefan smiled at her- well, leered at her really- and stroked her cheek; normally Elena would welcome the touch, would lean into it even more, but being touched by Stefan like this only made her shiver.

"Why so nervous baby?" Stefan whispered, grabbing her waist and pulling her closer, forcing their hips to collide. "Didn't you miss me?"

He began to rub her hips and kiss her neck, his hand sliding her dress strap off. "Didn't you miss this?" he asked, dragging his lips along her neck, but not biting. Suddenly he drew back and stared at her to mutter "Or were you too occupied with Damon to miss me?"

Elena stared back at him, trying to plead silently with him. Klaus crept up, wiping his bloodstained mouth with his hand, a quizzical expression on his face. "Something wrong, Stefan?"

Bringing his eyes up to meet hers, Stefan remarked, "I think it'd be best if I saved the best for last."

Klaus sighed. "I'm not suggesting you kill her; in fact I'd prefer if you didn't. Just... enjoy her."

"What, and spoil the rest of dinner?" Stefan commented dryly. "I'd prefer I didn't."

A suspicious look crossed Klaus' face. "In that case, maybe I will-"

"No," Stefan nearly shouted and everyone, even the compelled guests, looked at him. "I can't do this," he murmured, eyes boring into Elena's. "Later, though, I'll be able to... fully enjoy her."

As he spoke, he slipped one hand beneath her dress and let it linger on her thigh.

"All right," Klaus eventually said. "I want details, though!"

"Of course," Stefan withdrew his hand before leaning in again to nuzzle her neck. "I'll see you soon, babe. It's just... I can't do this now."

Elena remained against the books, clutching the shelf tightly and her legs shaking. Sitting down would be welcome, but moving was impossible at the moment. Closing her eyes to escape this living nightmare would be a welcome escape, but Elena forced herself to watch as Klaus and Stefan resumed their dinner.

"I can't do this now." It was close enough to their code-phrases to make Elena wonder. Despite the fact that Stefan, at that moment, was greedily lapping blood from a woman's leg, it was enough to make her wonder.

Stefan certainly seemed to be enjoying himself less than before; he moved mechanically, barely drinking at all before moving on, no longer toying or caressing or teasing. Klaus, unfortunately, noticed this too.

Suddenly he was at Elena's side, holding her bandaged wrist. "Elena, dear," he spoke quietly, but of course Stefan overheard. Keeping his eyes on the blonde in front of him, Stefan listened carefully.

"I just realized how impolite we're being- here it is dinner time and you've had nothing," he scratched his wrist and held it out. "Will you do me the honor?"

"Go to hell," Elena spat and Stefan smirked slightly.

Klaus frowned and circled his hand around Elena's neck. "Worried?"

"No," Elena answered. "I just don't think your blood would agree with me."

Although she dearly wanted to kick him or push him or do something, she forced herself to remain still, even as Klaus' hand tightened.

"This is boring," Stefan interjected and smoothly snapped the neck of the blonde; no one noticed except Klaus, who laughed, and Elena, who looked like she was about to faint.

"So true, Mr. Salvatore!" Klaus stepped away from Elena and resumed feasting.

* * *

><p>When Klaus finally allowed Elena to leave the room, she ran to her room and slammed the door behind her. Her whole body shook and she fought to tear her dress off, ripping it in the process. Good, she thought bitterly. If only she could burn the thing, she thought savagely as she flung her shoes against the wall, getting a small amount of pleasure at the resounding thud.<p>

In the shower she allowed herself to cry, giving into the misery, pain, loneliness, hopelessness. She'd been so certain at the beginning that it would be easy to bring Stefan, her Stefan back; it wouldn't be easy to defeat Klaus- after all, how does one go about killing a centuries old were-vamp who's also an original?- but they'd be able to figure it out together. They couldn't bring Jenna back, couldn't erase what had happened, but they could get on with their lives. Of course there would be problems and issues, but at least they could go home knowing that that bastard was dead.

Now she was almost positive that that wouldn't happen. Stefan would sink deeper and Klaus would gain more power and her family and friends would never truly be safe. Her tears turned to sobs, great heaving ones that made it difficult for her to breathe, and Elena sunk to the shower floor, curling up while she sobbed.

She didn't know how long she was there (long enough for the water to turn chilly) before she felt them: familiar hands on her body, gently holding her and lifting her out of the tub, carefully standing her upright. Stefan kept an arm securely around her, steadying her as he reached for a towel. Not meeting her eyes he vigorously dried her and then grabbed a fresh towel to wrap around her body. Elena stayed as still as possible, terrified and confused and calm, certain that Klaus was just outside waiting to attack, equally certain that Stefan, her Stefan, was there. His movements were slower, as if he didn't want to frighten her, gentler, caresses to sooth her body. More like their early morning time together than anything else.

They ended up sitting on the bed, Stefan combing the tangles out of her hair. The house was strangely quiet, and Elena vaguely wondered where the guests were; really, though, it was fairly obvious what happened to them. A wave of repulsion swept through her and it was all she could do to stop herself from jumping off the bed and dashing to the sink to vomit. Stefan seemed to know what was going through her mind, and his touch became even gentler.

"I'm sorry," he murmured as the hairbrush snagged on a knot. Elena didn't respond, still confused and hurt and drained beyond belief. To go from Stefan drinking and killing people to Stefan apologizing for tugging too hard on her hair practically gave her whiplash, and was all too reminiscent of Damon's typical behavior. Or at least, how Damon used to behave. In a way they seemed to have switched places.

When her hair was completely untangled, Stefan remained seated behind Elena but didn't touch her. He couldn't bring himself to. "I'm so sorry for everything," he said quietly.

"Did you kill that woman to get Klaus away from me?" Elena asked dully, before remembering that Klaus would easily pick up on every spoken word.

"He's not here," Stefan seemed to know what she was thinking. "He's... taking care of the bodies. Normally I do that-"

"But he couldn't let you deprive yourself of me any longer," Elena finished bitterly. Turning around, she continued, "Well, go ahead, just do it already."

"You know I..." Stefan murmured.

"Know what?"

Stefan stood and began to pace back and forth. "I can't. Not like this."

"Why? You do it to other people."

"You're not- I can't just take it from you," Stefan looked down, his voice dropping to a mumble.

"So, what, I have to give you my blood?"

Stefan looked at her and nodded, just once.

"Like before," Elena said softly, remembering all the days before when she'd willingly given her blood. The mornings when he'd drink from her hand or ankle, kissing the skin in thanks. The nights when he'd drink from her back or hip, the look in his eyes when he pulled away, so sated and yet tinged with worry that this time she would be repulsed. Honestly, though the idea had frightened her at first, she'd been happy to do it, happy that it gave him more confidence and strength. It was something they shared, a trust and bond between them. It meant something to Stefan but it meant something to Elena as well.

She's silent for so long that Stefan became nervous. "I hate Klaus," he murmured and Elena looked at him, gazing at him with unreadable eyes.

"It's not like I enjoy it," Stefan continued, bitterness consuming his voice. "Playing second to Klaus, of all people? Elijah clearly got the brains of the family."

"Plus trying to kill you and Bonnie, oh, and actually killing Jenna," Elena stared at him. "Or had you forgotten that?"

Stefan didn't look at her when he said, "He killed you too Elena."

Elena shivered and wished she was wearing actual clothing. Clutching the towel closer, she walked stiffly by Stefan to retrieve her clothes, hyper aware of Stefan's eyes following her, watching her every move.

He knew he was frightening her and hated himself for it. Taking his eyes off her, he said quietly, "The full moon is in a couple of days- Klaus normally goes away for those and I can get you out of here. We just have to hang on until then."

"What about you?" Elena asked.

"I've tried, but-"

"Stefan, look at me," Elena stared at him. "I'm not leaving here without you."

Stefan smiled, a cold smile that was eerily similar to Klaus'. "Why in the world would you want me to go with you?"

"Because I love you," she said simply. "Come back, Stefan. Come back to me."

She touched his face, willing herself to forget the earlier images of the night, to look past the bloodstains on Stefan's face. Somewhere, buried beneath the Ripper, was the boy she fell in love with, the man she loved. "Don't hide from me," she whispered, tentatively wrapping her arms around him, dropping her face to his neck. "Come back to me."

Stefan forced himself not to struggle from her embrace. He didn't deserve this, didn't deserve to have Elena come here after all that he'd done and still love him. Couldn't believe that after the past few days she hadn't turned away in disgust at the very sight of him. It made him want to take off his ring and step into the sunlight, the shame and guilt were so overwhelming.

It also gave him hope.

"I'll try," he whispered. "I'll try harder."

He heard Elena exhale and felt her hold on him tighten. Slowly so he won't frighten her (and so he wouldn't frighten himself), Stefan hugged her back, burying his face in her hair. Elena placed a gentle kiss on his neck. lingering lovingly. Even the distant sounds of Klaus returning couldn't overcome the fact that Elena still loved him and was here with him, in his arms.

Still, Stefan thought of her blood. He could practically feel the blood running throughout her body, the thought of it electrifying and mouth-watering. He wondered if the taste of her blood had changed since her "death"- it would be so easy to find out. It would be so easy to move his lips from her hair to her neck.

The change in his face was audible and Elena froze, her heart beginning to race.

"Stefan?" she whispered uncertainly.

Suddenly Elena was pressed against the mattress, Stefan hovering over her, eyes blood-red and sharp teeth fully exposed. Her arms were pinned above her and she couldn't take her eyes away from his- they were tinged by lust and desire, but fear too, as if he couldn't believe what he was doing.

"Stefan," she whispered and suddenly, she knew, had known all along, what she had to do.

Slowly, deliberately, she stretched her neck. Stefan couldn't believe what she was doing (was she insane?) and the battle going on inside of him increased. He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to feed on her. He wanted to get away from all this, take her far from here. He wanted to stay on the bed with her forever.

Without thinking, his lips moved to her neck, where they gently kissed her soft skin. An approving noise came from Elena's throat and Stefan smirked, tightening his grasp on her wrists. The kisses began to change, becoming harder, nipping at her flesh, followed by his tongue soothing the attacked skin. Then, before he could stop himself, he bit her, nearly crying when he tasted her blood.

Yet somehow, he managed to pull himself away after only a few seconds.

Stefan rolled off of Elena, settling besides her on the bed as his face returned to its human facade. Elena remained still, breathing heavily. Gingerly she touched her neck and was surprised to feel so little blood- the pain made her think that the wound would be messier.

"Does it hurt?" Stefan asked abruptly.

"It's not that bad," Elena lied.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. Elena didn't say anything, but reached for his hand, grasping it tightly. "Thank you," he whispered so softly he wasn't sure if she heard him. "Thank you," he repeated and Elena shifted, rolling onto his arm and curling up besides him, placing her injured wrist on his chest.

"I love you," she whispered. "Hold onto that, Stefan."

For the second night in a row, Stefan watched as she fell asleep. Guilt swept over him as he touched the wound on her neck, when he thought about how he attacked her, when he thought of how frightened she looked at first. He can't do that to her again. He won't do that her again.

Stefan wrapped his arm around her and held her tightly, guilt and pleasure and pain and hope all mixed together.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN**: Part 5 of this beast... I think there are only a couple of chapters left to this thing, so hopefully I'll have those up soon. Thank you so much for all your comments/reviews/alerts- you guys are so lovely and wonderful!

* * *

><p>Like the previous morning, Stefan was reluctant to get out of bed in the morning and reluctant to wriggle out of Elena's arms. Looking at her wounded neck, though, forced him to get up and cross to the bathroom, returning with a wash-cloth and band-aid; he gently tended to her neck, running his hand through her hair and hoping not to wake her. In her sleep she looked so peaceful and relaxed, even as she reached for the space where he'd been before, finding the pillow instead and muttering something incoherent.<p>

Stefan was just placing a band-aid on Elena's neck when he heard Klaus approaching, talking to someone, and, judging by his cold tone, not very happy.

"You told me you would have it for me," he hissed. "Well, I don't care about your "attempts" and let me put it to you this way: have it for me in two days or be prepared to have, oh, five funerals instead. What the hell, make it seven, take care of the whole family."

By then Elena was awake, slowly sitting up and glancing at Stefan warily. He instinctively took her hand, twisting his fingers together with hers and she didn't protest or pull away. Why was it that Klaus always felt the need to interrupt peaceful mornings?

"Good, you're both awake," Klaus said tersely when he came into the room. "We're leaving today," he announced and Stefan and Elena exchanged a look. "All of us. So pack your bags, children, because we're heading for greener pastures!"

"Why?" Stefan moved so he was half-blocking Elena from Klaus' view. "Why is Elena coming with us?"

Considering the typical work Klaus made him do- attacking people, torturing them, killing them, he didn't want Elena near that; besides, it would be harder to protect her (never mind how he'd attacked her last night, how even now he wanted to drink more of her blood, and how the hell was he going to protect her from himself if she was with them?).

Klaus said with a smile, "I'd have thought you'd be glad to have her along, considering how well your reacquaintance is going."

When his footsteps were still fading from the hall, Elena bit her lip and asked, "Where do you think we're going?"

"Who knows," Stefan sighed and looked at her, seeing the familiar worry in her eyes, the fear that's come across her entire face and he knew that his actions last night contributed to that and he absolutely loathed himself. There's nothing he could do to erase that, but the least he could do was try to make it better.

Stefan forced himself to say, "Come on- you get dressed and I'll meet you downstairs with a surprise. Okay?"

Elena's light smile in response was enough for him.

* * *

><p>The surprise turned out to be Stefan cooking her favorite breakfast. While Klaus yelled at more people on the phone (alternating between yelling and whispering menacingly, and it was a toss-up between which was scarier), Elena found that Stefan was still an amazing cook. She gobbled down the omelet, even found herself asking for seconds, showing more of an interest in food than she had in months.<p>

While they washed the dishes, Elena asked tentatively, "Where are the Fowlers?", though she was unsure if she actually wanted to know the answer.

Stefan's jaw tightened. "What do you think happened?" he asked and Elena flinched. "For what it's worth-" he stopped and sighed, forcing himself to gaze at the wall instead of meeting her accusing eyes. "For what it's worth, I almost didn't do it. I hesitated and I didn't... well, it hasn't been like that in a while," he offered lamely.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Elena snapped. Then, in a softer voice, she asked, "What does it make you feel like, killing people?"

"It used to be fun. Or, well, not fun all the time, but at least I knew it was keeping Damon safe as well," Stefan said bitterly. "Hunting people, killing them- it was powerful and horrible and exciting and now it's different."

"Why?"

Stefan twisted the water so it was higher and hopefully drowned out the sound of their voices from Klaus. "You. I look at you and see how you look at me and I can feel how disappointed you are and how repulsed you are by me. And I know that it would be better if you left, if you just forgot about me and let me go-,"

"I'm not letting you go," Elena interjected fiercely. "Stefan, Stefan look at me. I'm not giving up on you and I'm never just going to leave you."

Stefan nodded and quickly looked away. Those brown eyes seemed to bore though his body, see right through him, and now, now he couldn't have her see what he'd become. "I'm sorry about last night," he gestured to her neck. "I'm so sorry about attacking you."

"You didn't exactly attack me," Elena pointed out. "Or, well, okay, you did and you didn't," she sighed and placed her hand over his. "What if we made a deal?"

At Stefan's questioning look, Elena continued in a whisper, "Not with Klaus or anyone- I'm talking about us, you and me, Stefan. You don't kill or feed on anyone and I- you'll feed on me and only me."

"No," Stefan immediately answered. "No, absolutely not. It's too risky."

"Stefan, look, if you're going to drink human blood I'd rather you'd drink mine. At home it seemed- well, it seemed to agree with you," she flushed.

Stefan stared at her. "Even after what I did- what I've done- you'd do that?"

"Yes," was Elena's instant reply.

Stefan shook his head. "Klaus will-"

"We'll deal with him together," Elena replied and Stefan gently touched her neck, his fingers skimming over the band-aid.

"All right," Stefan finally said, bringing his hand to rest over Elena's. "All right. But- I want you to drink from me- so you'll heal faster."

After considering this for a moment Elena answered, "All right," and leaned against him, pleased when he didn't flinch away.

* * *

><p>They drove in the car for several hours, Stefan at the wheel, Elena in the back, Klaus up front navigating, joking and not getting laughs from either of them.<p>

"Really, you two mope too much," he grumbled.

Elena stared out the window and tapped her pen against her journal, wondering how Jeremy was doing. If he was going to school or slacking off, if he and Bonnie were still going strong, if he was letting others help him or trying to deal with everything by himself. She hadn't been there for him after John and Jenna's deaths, she knew that, knew that she had been too wrapped up in her own problems to adequately (or even less-than-adequately) comfort or help him. Even before she'd left Elena hadn't done nearly enough for Jeremy.

Then Klaus cracked another joke and Elena gritted her teeth, hoping it wouldn't be much longer.

They stopped at a bar, supposedly to get food but really so Klaus could "question" someone. The place was surprisingly crowded, filled with people laughing and talking loudly, the din of the place reminiscent of the Mystic Grill after a particularly fun school dance, but despite the crowd, Klaus immediately zeroed in on a lone guy by the pool table. He smiled, barring his teeth in a wolfish grin.

"Mr. Salvatore, go to work," he instructed and Stefan nodded brusquely. Elena watched as Stefan began to work the room, compelling everyone into a dreamy, hazy state. Klaus, meanwhile, procured a shot glass filled with amber liquid and watched Elena watching Stefan with a smile.

"How's your wrist, dear?" Klaus looked at her. "Not bothering you, I trust?"

"How's your search for random rocks going?" Elena snapped, and was pleased to see Klaus' eyes narrow in surprise.

"You've been snooping, Miss Gilbert."

"I figured you'd prefer that to moping."

"Indeed," Klaus smiled. "Well, you certainly are an enterprising creature."

"So what are you up to?" Elena persisted. "Trying to take over the world? Trying to destroy the world?"

"Nothing so mundane, I assure you."

"Creating an evil army? Trying to bring someone back from the dead?"

Klaus stared cooly at her. "Interesting thoughts, Elena," he gulped the rest of his drink before replying. "Love can drive one to do rather foolish things, wouldn't you agree?" With that, he strode off towards his prey, leaving Elena standing alone, mulling over his words. Stefan was slowly circling the room, watching Klaus for the most part, his eyes constantly flickering to Elena. Slowly, she went to him, waited for him to finish the last compulsion.

"You okay?" she asked.

Stefan hesitated and stroked her cheek, bending his head close to hers. "I'm so sorry," he whispered. "I'm so sorry."

"Stop apologizing," she whispered back and gazed up at him. His lips were so close to hers, his eyes were so beautiful and sorrowful, the urge to kiss him was so incredibly strong and yet Elena couldn't kiss him, not now in a room full of compelled strangers who were probably going to serve as Klaus' next meal. Berating herself for being such a coward, she looked over his shoulder and caught a glimpse of an irate Klaus glaring at them.

"Uh, Stefan," she said hesitantly. "I think Klaus is, uh-,"

Stefan reluctantly looked over at Klaus before turning back to her with a sad smile and no words before going the pool table. Elena followed, keeping her distance as she watched Klaus swiftly stake the guy in the stomach, prompting him to double over in pain only to be staked in the back by Stefan. Klaus and Stefan seemed to have their routine down perfectly; after all, they'd had months to fine-tune their routine. She forced herself to watch as Stefan flipped the guy onto the table as Klaus pulled out a tiny bottle of liquid and sprinkled it across the guy's face, prompting him to scream, cry out for help. No one even noticed, and Elena had to dig her nails into a chair to stop herself from running over.

The torture session seemed to go on for hours, both Klaus and Stefan casually going about their business. When it was over the guy- the vampire, she'd figured out- wasn't dead, but he definitely looked like he'd prefer death. His face was a mess of scars and boils, angry welts and burns; his body had been attacked with vervain tipped stakes, most wielded by Stefan while Klaus languidly questioned him. Stefan hoisted the guy over his shoulder and followed Klaus out the door.

"Enjoy the show, Miss Gilbert?" Klaus called as Elena stepped out into the sunlight, dizzy from the brightness and from what she'd just seen. "Stefan, drop our friend in the back, will you?"

Without a word Stefan carried the guy away.

"So you're gathering- something- from both werewolves and vampires," Elena muttered. "What about witches?"

Klaus sighed. "Don't you ever stop?"

Stefan reappeared and Elena stared at him- he looked exhausted and drained, angry and irritated. "Ready to go?" he asked.

"Naturally," Klaus snapped. "We got what we came for. Into the car, children, onwards to our next trip. And will both of you be so good as to keep an eye out for a decent hotel?"

* * *

><p>When they got to a hotel that Klaus deemed decent (decent enough for his rather expensive tastes), he handled the check-in while Stefan took care of the bags, falling back into the servant position.<p>

"Compulsion?" Elena asked under her breath as they stood in the elevator.

"Elementary, my dear."

Klaus had gotten them an enormous suite of rooms that practically took up the entire floor. After being stuck in a car with Klaus, Elena was more than relieved that they wouldn't have to share one bedroom because that would probably lead to more disaster and death, though with their luck it wouldn't be Klaus' death.

"Ah," Klaus threw open the balcony door. "Just smell that delightful air!"

It smelled like smoke and car exhaustion.

Klaus scowled at their unsmiling faces. "You two spend too much time moping, you know? Well, here's something to cheer you up- I'm going out for awhile. Alone."

Relief swept through Elena's body and she saw Stefan relax slightly.

"Usual rules apply, of course," Klaus continued smoothly. "No contacting certain people, no escaping, and I'll be compelling you, Stefan."

"Why?" Stefan challenged. "You've left before and I haven't run."

"What can I say? I have trust issues."

"What about me?" Elena asked.

"Really, Miss Gilbert, you can't possibly be thinking about abandoning Mr. Salvatore now. Of course, if you really need an incentive to stay... hmm. Oh, here's one!" Klaus practically clapped his hands together with glee. "If you try to escape, well, with the full moon coming up I'll just dash over to Mystic Falls and pay the other Mr. Salvatore a visit. Shame, as I only just cured him, but..."

Stefan growled and hurled a chair at Klaus; naturally Klaus zoomed aside and the chair went crashing into the sofa instead. Quickly, Elena seized the hem of Stefan's shirt and pulled it gently, murmuring "Stefan" quietly.

"Temper, temper, Mr. Salvatore," Klaus shook his head. "Still, it's nice to see to see you out of that dreadfully dull moping phase- I'll thank you for that, Miss Gilbert."

Elena remained still, her fingers finding Stefan's bare skin beneath his shirt and gently caressing his side, trying to calm him down. Watching him, Elena saw how tense he was, how truly frightened he was by the threat against Damon's life, how Klaus knew so easily hot to read Stefan and play with his weaknesses. That was part of the reason why he'd brought her along, she realized- Klaus was using her as another bargaining chip, another way to keep Stefan in line. Fuming, Elena berated herself for not seeing that before.

Her fingers burrowed deeper in Stefan's skin while Klaus compelled him, hoping to comfort him, hoping to comfort herself.

"Well, I'll be leaving you now. Don't wait up," Klaus smiled. "And if you get hungry, well, there's always room service!"

* * *

><p>The first thing he did was take a long shower. Standing under the water, Stefan closed his eyes as the past few days images washed over him, playing like the horror story it was in his mind. Killing someone in front of Elena. Drinking from her. Torturing someone in front of her. Making the deal with her... if she still wanted to keep that. It still seemed amazing that Elena had so much faith in him- amazing and frightening, because what if he couldn't live up to that, to her beliefs about him?<p>

Then again, being around her- well, it brought everything back, the fear, the guilt, the pain, but seeing the fierceness of her gaze, the hope in her eyes, that just made him more determined to- what, beat Klaus? Go back to the way things were? He couldn't do that, he couldn't go back to how things were before; defeating Klaus would be easier and Klaus was a seemingly invincible hybrid. If Elena had never come here it'd be far easier to accept that his old life was gone, that he could never go back to it, can't let himself go back to it, but seeing her only reminded him how he can never go back to Mystic Falls or his old life. Not after the things he'd done.

If Elena had never come... but Elena was there, just in the room beyond, alone.

And Stefan was wasting time in the shower. Alone. Clearly he had lost his mind.

Elena had already ordered and received room service and was in the process of wolfing down a sandwich when Stefan emerged.

"Sorry," she apologized. "But I haven't eaten in awhile and I didn't know-"

"Elena, it's fine," he smiled. "It's my fault for not making sure you got some food."

"How is that your fault?" Elena asked and then changed the subject. "That vampire- what did Klaus want from him?"

Stefan randomly grabbed a dinner roll and began to pick at it. "He wanted the location of someone the guy knew."

"Not some rock or random object?"

"Nope, person," Stefan said as crumbs began scattering across the plate. "He's collecting things for a spell, I'm pretty sure."

"Rocks, dopplegangers," Elena frowned. "Stefan, who was the first doppleganger?"

Stefan looked at her sharply. "We don't- I don't know, except she was in the Petrova/Pierce family. Why?"

"I don't know," Elena shrugged. "It's just... I don't know, I keep trying to think of what he's trying to do and today he made some weird comment about love-"

"Love? Klaus?" Stefan snorted. "Huh."

"Kind of difficult to picture, right?" Elena gestured to her food. "Want some?"

He didn't, not really, but Stefan took a sandwich half and nibbled on it; surprisingly it actually tasted okay- it'd been so long since he'd eaten anything but blood that the idea of anything other than human blood, fresh and sweet, was difficult to imagine.

"Is it possible to resurrect someone?" he said suddenly and Elena looked at him.

"I suggested that to Klaus and that's when he made the love comment," she replied. "What if Klaus is trying to bring someone back, someone he loved?"

"And if that someone was connected to the original doppleganger, that would explain why he needs you and Katherine," Stefan continued. "It doesn't explain the rocks-"

"Why doesn't he just use the elixir Elijah had?"

"Maybe he doesn't know about it."

They looked at each other, finally feeling like they were making progress of some sort.

"What happened to him- the vampire?" Elena asked later, curled up on the couch.

"I gave him some of my blood- it didn't heal him as fast as human blood would have, but it gave him some strength back," Stefan told her and couldn't resist adding, "So I've stuck to my side of the deal so far- no feeding, no killing."

"I know," Elena gazed at him steadily. "I know you have."

They were quiet after that, a little more at ease with each other, watching TV and talking quietly. No anything important and certainly no more progress was made on the Klaus issue, but Elena told Stefan a bit more about the past months, the way she felt herself falling and unable to steady herself, the way she'd follow stories about animal killings and try to follow them. How Bonnie had tried to do a tracking spell on him. How lost and separate she felt from everyone, how alone she felt every second. The nightmares that made her scream and send Jeremy and Alaric running.

When she spoke Stefan unconsciously moved closer to her, until they're only an inch or two apart on the couch. When she talked about how guilty she felt for being lonely, of all things, he stopped himself from taking her into his arms and assuring her that after everything that happened to her it was normal to feel lonely. Elena, though, seemed to know what he was thinking about and rested her head on his shoulder, leaning her body into his, smiling slightly when he leaned into her as well. Her hand crept closer to his and grabbed it, fingers loosely interlocking with his. Such a normal, welcome gesture- just her presence right now was calming to Stefan.

Feeling guilty, he mumbled "I- um- I'll need to feed soon."

"All right."

"And, uh, I'll need more this time."

"Okay," Elena looked up at him. "And you still want me to, um, have some of yours?"

"Yes," Stefan said firmly and Elena squeezed his hand. "It'll be okay," she whispered. "Stefan, it'll be okay."

Carefully, he brushed her hair away from her neck and drew her wrist up, as if trying to decide where to bite her; choosing her wrist, Stefan kissed the skin before biting, his eyes locked on Elena's face. The range of emotions that flickered across her face amazed Stefan- pain, love, lust. Finishing drinking, he bit his own wrist and offered it to her. Elena took it almost eagerly, pressing her lips against it and drinking immediately, and Stefan closed his eyes. There had only been one other time when she'd had his blood and it wasn't anything like this; then it had been all pain and terror and fear whereas now they could take their time and he could relish in her lips on his skin, her tongue lapping up his blood.

When she was done, she couldn't look at him. Stefan reached and touched her lips, wiping away the spots of blood that remained. He checked her neck and found the wound had disappeared, looked at her wrist and saw no sign of his bit; Elena undid the bandage on her sprained wrist and stretched it.

"Elena, look at me," he whispered. "Are you- are you okay?"

She looked up at him, her eyes bright. "More than okay- although, um- is it- I cannot believe I'm saying this- I enjoyed it," she whispered the last few words.

"Say that again," Stefan felt his heart leap into his throat.

Elena groaned softly. "I- giving you my blood- okay, it's weird and painful, but it makes me feel- powerful. That's not the right way to describe it, but the way you look at me- it's like we're connected on this other level and then when I drank from you...I know it's gross, I can't believe that I enjoyed it, all of it."

Stefan smiled. "I don't think it's gross."

Elena gave him a look. "I'm human, Stefan, I don't think it's normal for me to enjoy it."

"It's intimacy, Elena, it's about connection and when I drink from you it's not just getting strength it's about us, you and me," Stefan shifted and took her hands. "And I love you, Elena, I love you so hard and not just for your blood but for you."

He stopped at the look on Elena's face, fearing that he'd said too much or gone too far.

"That's the first time you've said it," Elena whispered. "This entire time, you've never said-,"

Stefan looked down, focusing on her wrist, studying her skin, trying to think of the perfect thing to say. "I though it'd be better, you'd be safer, if I didn't love you- if I tried to stop loving you."

Elena raised her eyebrow and touched his face. "How'd that go?"

"I don't think I'll ever be able to stop loving you," he whispered and kissed her, his lips locking onto hers as he buried his hands in her hair. Elena eagerly kissed Stefan back, moving to caress his hair and face. The kisses ranged from gentle to passionate, soft and hard, their tongues twisting together as Elena pushed Stefan back onto the floor and crawled on top of him. Her fingers slid under his shirt, roaming his chest and kneading his skin and she quickly pulled the shirt off and began to kiss his chest, slowly working her way downwards.

Suddenly Stefan grabbed her hair, his face changing, ridges forming and his teeth extending. He made to roll away from her and tried to hide his face, but Elena instead leaned up and kissed him, her tongue sliding around his teeth as she gently touched his face.

"It's okay, Stefan- come back to me," she whispered and kissed him again. Then she resumed her path downwards- or at least she tried to before Stefan whisked her up and carried her to one of the bedrooms. He pinned her against the door and the kisses continued, as did the clothing removal; they hit the bed in a tangle of limbs and locked lips, Stefan falling on top and working his hand between her legs as Elena gasped and moaned.

Later, much later, Elena murmured drowsily, "I love you," and Stefan repeated the words back several times, not getting over how amazing it was to say them to her. Elena smiled and ducked her head against his chest, lazily stroking his back. When she felt an unfamiliar pattern of scars she frowned, murmuring, "What happened?"

"During a fight... honestly I can't even remember," Stefan stroked Elena's smooth back. "It's nothing."

Elena twisted out of his arms and began planting small, delicate kisses over the scars, tracing them with her tongue. Stefan moaned and reached behind to grab onto Elena's hand.

When she was settled again in his arms, Elena kept a tight hold on his hand, moving as close to him as possible, sliding her legs between his and tucking her head underneath his chin while he stroked her back. "I love you, Stefan," she murmured. "Love you."

The words echoed in his mind and lingered long after Elena had fallen asleep. Not trusting himself to sleep- although it'd been a couple of days and he definitely needed some- Stefan replayed those words over and over throughout the night, all the while holding her close.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN**: Apologies for the wait- writer's block, lack of inspiration, uni, the usual factors. Hopefully the next chapter will be a lot better and also be up a lot sooner. And thank you so much for all your wonderful comments- they're so wonderful and encouraging, and definitely made for good motivation!

* * *

><p>Elena didn't want to open her eyes. She didn't want to wake up and find that last night was only a dream, that the promises and kisses didn't actually happen, that in reality she was still at the Fowler's house and the only reason why Stefan even allowed her anywhere near him was because he was fast asleep in a nightmare world, reliving what he's done over and over. If she doesn't open her eyes, Elena figured that there was still a chance that yesterday was real. Sighing, she rolled over, coming into contact with the familiar planes of Stefan's chest. She looked at Stefan and saw him watching- gazing- at her, his eyes containing a hint of their former brightness along with the familiar glint of satisfaction and pleasure that was nearly always on his face when they were alone. He was studying her with such intensity that Elena blushed and ducked her head, touching his arm and skimming over his chest and Stefan caught her hand and brought it to his lips, brushing her fingers with feathery kisses.<p>

"Morning," he whispered and she shifted closer, resting her chin on his chest. "How are you?"

Elena played with his hand. "Better than I've been in a while."

Stefan ran his hand along her back and closed his eyes out of relief more than anything else. Relief that she wasn't hurt, relief that she hadn't been freaked out by last night. "Good," he rested his hand on her hip. "Good."

"So if Klaus doesn't come back, what do you want to do today?"

"Try to figure out more of what he's doing, I guess."

"Try to figure out more of what he's doing, I guess."

"Yeah. Oh, and another thing," Elena paused and Stefan raised his eyebrows. "More of this," she said before kissing him and Stefan eagerly kissed her back, pulling the sheets over them again.

* * *

><p>"I don't know if I can go back home," Stefan confessed that night. They were sitting, lounging really, on the balcony, tired from a day spent going from the bed to the shower back to bed again. Elena was writing furiously in her journal while Stefan had written a little and then stopped, lost in thought about the potential future.<p>

Elena looked at him and said nothing, waiting for him to continue.

"To Mystic Falls," Stefan clarified. "I can't go back there. It's too risky."

What it was was a fucking tragedy waiting to happen.

"Ever?" Elena asked softly. Her voice caught on the word and Stefan had to look away, unable to meet her eyes. "Not for a while," he whispered.

Elena bit her lip and gently rubbed the back of his neck. "Our family's there, Stefan- Jeremy, Caroline, Damon, everyone. We love you, we need you with us. Besides, considering everything Damon's done, everything I've done-"

"Doesn't compare," Stefan muttered. "Not even close."

She stared at him evenly, took a deep breath and said steadily, "I kissed Damon."

For a moment Elena didn't think he had heard her and then, so quietly she could barely hear him, "You told me."

That first day, that awful first day. "We've never gotten a chance to talk about it-"

"He was dying, you were trying to help him," Stefan replied without a hint of emotion in his voice. "Like I was. Only you were kissing my brother while I was signing my life away."

"I didn't know!" Elena protested. "You didn't- you gave absolutely no hint about how far you would go to save him and yes, I should have known, I should have thought about it. I would have done the same thing if Jeremy was in that position, and hell, I did the same thing- I gave myself to Klaus to save the people I love..." she trailed off and sighed, dropping her gaze to the ground. "I swear if I had known, Stefan, I would have come after you the minute you went over there."

"Klaus would have killed you," Stefan murmured. "The first girl- that would have been you," his voice broke and Elena instinctively wrapped her arms around him, rocking Stefan while he wept and whispered, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Lena, I'm so sorry," over and over.

After he apologized at least a hundred times (that's not enough, he could never apologize enough), Stefan sat up from Elena's lap, his voice rough as he spoke, "Sorry about being so fucked up and moody and useless and... sorry."

Elena hugged him close. "It'll take time, Stefan." Time to heal, time for him to forgive himself. "Come on," she murmured, "let's go inside."

That night Elena held him as close as possible, running her hand through his hair and keeping an arm around him. "I love you," she whispered and eventually Stefan nestled against her, burying his face in her chest.

In the morning they started again. Uneasy at first, barely looking at each other while they drank and then had room service (while Elena surprised herself by enjoying the taste of Stefan's blood, she still needed actual food), it got better after that. After Elena caught Stefan staring at the omelet in distaste and teased him about past dates where it was obvious he wanted to go back to the kitchen and cook the meal himself. After she made him crack a smile talking about her own cooking abilities that pale in comparison to his and probably just about everyone she knows. She listened to his stories, talked him through the pain, held him when it became too much. When he tried to turn away, to hide from her, Elena stopped him, whispering, "Don't hide from me," until he finally listened.

Little by little, Elena coaxed more and more out of Stefan, getting him to smile and even laugh, to relax a little and remember the good memories along with the bad. It was different between them, obviously; Elena knew that he wasn't fully "back" yet, that almost every second the pain and guilt nearly buried every other emotion he had, that that would be the case for, well, a while. He'd done horrible things, probably killed more people than she'd imagined, and the thought of Stefan killing people was unsettling to say the least. Still, Elena couldn't help but see the good at him- like she did with everyone else (Except Klaus. Not even Elena could force herself to see the good in Klaus).

Over the next few days they made each other smile. They made each other grow faint with desire, eager to make up for lost time. They would drink from each other other and feel the connection strengthen, they would look at each other and know that forever, for them, wouldn't be enough time. Elena and Stefan's hands would clench as their bodies came together, as if they were afraid to let go of each other, afraid of losing each other again.

* * *

><p>His lips were on her neck, his hands roaming her body. Elena's eyes fluttered open as she was lovingly awakened by Stefan and her face lit up with a smile; rolling over, she allowed him to press her further into the mattress as he attended to every inch of her body. She didn't care how loud they were.<p>

"I love you," they both repeated the words over and over again.

Later, Elena pulled the twisted sheets over them again, burying her face against his chest. "I wish Klaus would stay away forever."

It'd been four days since Klaus had left them at the hotel, and they had come to enjoy the moments alone.

Stefan let his fingers grasp her hair. "Though you wanted to go home."

"I do- oh, you know what I mean," Elena lightly hit his arm.

Stefan wasn't so eager to return to Mystic Falls; of course he wanted to see his friends and Damon (although he and Damon would have to have a serious talk, particularly about girlfriend boundaries), of course he wanted to be free again. Even thinking about returning home, though, still made him nervous, afraid that it could never happen, afraid that it would happen and he would end up destroying everyone. He needed to withdraw, to detox, get back on animal blood and go back to normal. Only Elena had informed him that if he had to do that, she would be going with him, that the whole going back without him thing no longer worked for her (not that it ever did).

"Will you be able to go back?" Elena asked. "To animal blood?"

He was silent for a long moment. "I don't know," he finally replied. An answer that frightened both of them.

Still, Elena offered her wrist to Stefan and he scratched his wrist before offering it to her in return. As she drank, Elena looked up at him, surprised to see him doing the same thing; their eyes locked and she felt a charge go through her, as if he was looking directly to her heart, her soul.

"Well, this is a surprise," Klaus drawled.

Elena's first instinct was to tear her mouth away from Stefan's wrist, hide the evidence of what she'd been doing, but she resisted that. Instead, she cooly finished drinking, Stefan doing the same, mischief and worry mixing in his eyes.

"Don't you ever knock?" Stefan grumbled after he pulled away from Elena's wrist. He made sure Elena's body was covered by the tangled sheets and icily glared at Klaus. "You were gone so long I thought you'd forgotten about us."

"You mean you'd hoped I'd forgotten. Although that would mean that you'd be stuck here," Klaus leaned against the door. "So, Miss Gilbert, you seem to have changed your diet."

Elena glanced at Stefan, noting the familiar tension returning to his face. The honeymoon was over.

After showering (brief, separate showers rather than the lovely long ones they'd come to enjoy together), Stefan and Elena joined Klaus in the outer suite. Stefan held Elena's hand tightly, knowing that he needed to hold on to her, both to protect her and remind himself of the past couple of days to prevent himself from sliding back. Klaus looked a little worse for wear, paler and with a wild look in his eyes. Beckoning for them to sit, he drank some wine, despite the early morning hour, and studied them.

"I would ask how you two were doing, but I think I already got my answer," Klaus remarked with a sly grin. "As terribly sorry I am about interrupting your fun-"

"So don't," Stefan broke in. "Just leave us alone."

Klaus laughed. "Nice try, Mr. Salvatore, but unfortunately I must deny your request. Still, you'll have some lovely memories to look back on now, that's something."

Elena squeezed Stefan's leg. She could feel his anger, sense that he could lash out at any moment, and Klaus still frightened her enough to not want to provoke him. "What do you want, Klaus?" she asked warily, just wanting the ordeal to be over. "What do you want with us?"

"Well, you, my dear, are part of a little ritual I have to perform. And Stefan, well, he's just been bloody useful," Klaus replied. "Plus I think our time together has just been rather fun."

"You have a warped sense of fun," Elena muttered.

"Stefan, shall we get some breakfast?" Klaus asked abruptly and Stefan's hand tightened around Elena's.

After a moment, Stefan replied, "I already ate." Slowly, he touched Elena's neck, tracing shapes and patterns on it. "Best meal I've had in a while," he murmured and kissed her neck, lingering over the spot where last night's "dinner" had come from. He enjoyed the blush tinged Elena's face, knew she was reliving last night, every single wonderful moment. If it weren't for fucking Klaus sitting on the couch, they'd be doing a hell of a lot more than just reliving last night in their minds.

"I have to ask," Klaus said. "When did this lovely occurrence happen? You didn't compel her, did you?"

"He didn't have to," Elena blurted out before Stefan could respond. Klaus raised an eyebrow and looked at her. "So you're still trying to save him," he murmured. "How noble."

Elena smiled and looked at Stefan. It wasn't noble, she thought, it was love.

* * *

><p>Elena and Stefan were actually somewhat sorry to leave the hotel; despite being trapped there, it had become a safe haven, a cocoon from the surrounding chaos. Joining Klaus for yet another car ride simply brought reality crashing into their lives, all the danger, death, etc. Elena thought that if they had just had a few more days, maybe weeks, Stefan would have made more progress, maybe made more steps towards recovery.<p>

In the front seat, Stefan sat perfectly still, pondering the future, if they even had a future. He knew Elena wanted to return to Mystic Falls, back to their normal lives, but Stefan couldn't see himself doing that. Going back and following his normal routine, after all that he'd done, all the people he'd slaughtered, he couldn't. He couldn't talk with Jeremy or laugh with Caroline or anyone of that- it was different when he was alone with Elena, but he couldn't just be alone with Elena forever. Going back to normal, what was normal? Hell, "normal" for him at the moment was drinking from his girlfriend who was in more danger by the minute and all because of him.

No matter how much Elena protested that he wasn't the one who'd put her in danger, no matter how many times she'd proclaimed her love, Stefan felt more certain than ever that Elena would be far better off if he was no longer part of her life.

Like Elena would really let that happen, a small voice protested. Stefan glanced in the mirror and caught Elena's eyes on him, as if she knew exactly what he was thinking. We've been through this, her eyes seemed to say, and I'm not letting you go. I love you, but you cannot expect me to walk away from you. She gave him a brief smile, one he was compelled to return.

He's not sure if he would ever be able to truly leave her.

"That's a charming necklace, Elena," Klaus spoke suddenly. It was like he sensed Stefan and Elena were having a silent conversation and he wanted to join it. "Where did you get it?"

Elena's hand flew to her necklace; the delicate piece had been such a touchstone to her, even more so since Damon had given it back to her. "Stefan gave it to me," she replied tersely.

"Ah, how lovely- and where did you pick it up, Stefan?" Klaus turned Stefan's name over and twisted it, almost sneering as he said it, such a contrast to how Elena said the name.

Stefan shrugged. "I picked it up somewhere over the years." He glanced back at Elena, wanting to resume their private conversation- hell, wanting to resume their private time together. Elena smiled at him, her smile becoming uneasy as she became aware of Klaus' eyes on her, how he continued to watch her for awhile.

* * *

><p>While Klaus went inside an apartment building to retrieve something, Stefan decided to abandon his guard-post at the front door and climbed into the backseat with Elena, pulling her into his arms and kissing her hair.<p>

"This is bad of us," she murmured even as she kissed him greedily. "We should be-"

"What, sitting quietly and waiting for Klaus to get back?" Stefan rested his hands on the small of her back and gave her a fake pout. "Lena..."

Elena laughed and pressed him against the seat, hands covering her ears as she kissed him eagerly. Sure, making out wasn't the most logical or sensible thing to do at the moment, but Elena had to admit the dangerous aspect of it was kind of exciting and definitely a turn-on.

"I like this kind of lust a lot more than bloodlust," she breathed as one of his hands ran up and down her legs, the other inching up her shirt to trace the lines of her bra.

"Agree," Stefan nipped at her neck and squeezed her breast, taking pleasure from Elena's quickened breath and light moans.

"And," Elena shuddered and toyed with his belt, watching how his eyes seemed to glaze over at her touch. "The next time you want to make out in your car-"

"I always get you to go along," Stefan grinned, "eventually," he kissed her, moving his lips to her throat.

"Hey, I went along with the shower and the woods and the dressing room," she trailed off, their tongues too busy dueling to speak.

Suddenly Stefan's lips stilled and he froze, listening. Elena paused her own ministrations. "Stefan-"

Then she heard it too, the not-so-melodious sound of Klaus' voice and, feeling like guilty teenagers caught by prying parents, they scrambled into upright positions and hurried to fix disarrayed clothing. The door opened and Klaus leered at them. Super-hearing, Elena thought. He'd probably been listening to them the entire time they'd been making-out and she cringed, half dismayed and half amused. Stefan gave her a sly smile.

"You two," Klaus grinned. "Ah, young love- so appealing and yet so sickening, don't you agree?" He directed the question to someone behind him. "Guess you're in the front seat, my dear."

Stefan and Elena exchanged glances, wondering who the newcomer was; Stefan Stefan especially wondered, as Klaus hadn't seemed to want any other company aside from various victims and the random witches he had contact with.

"I think I'll go with sickening," Katherine Pierce stated as she slid into the front seat.

Elena drew in a sharp breath and automatically tightened her grasp on Stefan's hand. Katherine bore an equally unhappy expression on her face, and Elena remembered that, much like her, Katherine too had been Klaus' prisoner. Only Katherine's imprisonment had been less of a voluntary act. She felt a twinge of sympathy and couldn't believe that she was feeling sympathetic for Katherine, of all people, and knew that her mind was probably totally warped.

"So," Klaus announced once he was in the driver's seat. "Who wants music?"

Worst road trip ever.

* * *

><p>Elena, unbelievably, had fallen asleep. Her head rested on Stefan's shoulder and she had curled into him as much as possible; Stefan held her close, rubbing her back in slow, even circles, glad she could sleep and therefore escape Katherine's glares and Klaus' smiles. He turned and rested his cheek on the top of her head, nuzzling her hair and breathing her in, trying to inhale as much of her as possible. No matter what happened to him, Stefan knew he had to do anything and everything to protect Elena.<p>

"Did she tell you about Damon?" Katherine asked suddenly. "The kiss?"

Stefan tightened his grip on Elena as Klaus mock-gasped. "Kiss?"

"She told me," Stefan replied coldly.

"What is it about brothers and women?" Klaus muttered. "Katerina? You're our resident specialist on this subject..."

Katherine snorted. "Bastard."

In her sleep Elena groaned slightly and grasped Stefan's shirt, her face becoming pale and fearful, her breathing changing from relaxed and steady to harried and uneven- bad dream again, Stefan figured.

Only this time she didn't wake up when Stefan whispered to her, nor did she respond when he stroked her face or kissed her. "Elena," he said, his voice becoming louder and more urgent. "Lena."

Katherine was peering at them curiously, while Klaus merely stared straight ahead at the road. A sinking feeling came over Stefan and he forced himself to sound cold and detached as he growled, "Klaus. Stop torturing her."

"Well, it's a long drive and we need some amusement," Klaus sighed. "But you're right, it's a very small space for Miss Gilbert's noises."

Seconds later Elena's whimpering ceased and she sighed instead, thumbing Stefan's shirt. "Thank god," Katherine murmured.

"Offering to entertain us next, Katerina?" Klaus asked quietly.

Katherine froze and muttered "No," her voice sullen and quiet.

Stefan could tell Elena was awake now, but she kept her face pressed against his chest, pretending to still be asleep. For a moment he wondered if Klaus and Katherine knew- could they tell by the catch in her breath that she was awake or the way she kept shifting slightly against him.

He caught Klaus staring at them and quickly ducked his head against Elena's hair, breathing her in again, holding on to her and their love, no matter what Klaus had planned for them next.


	8. Chapter 8

**AN**: You guys are so wonderful with all of your lovely comments, encouragements, etc. Seriously, thank you so much. This will be the final installment of this particular story- although I'm not entirely happy with it, I hope it's a relatively satisfying ending. Warning, it is a little long, so just be warned about that. I am working on some other fics (both Season 3 and non Season 3 related), so hopefully I'll be posting more stuff soon.

* * *

><p>It was dark by the time they stopped for gas and dinner, a more laborious project than simply wandering into the nearest fast-food place. For one thing, Katherine was kept from having even a drop of human blood; she grumbled to them that she hadn't eaten properly in days, was given only the smallest amount of animal blood, just enough to keep her in a weakened state and yet not desiccate. Apparently even Klaus was unsettled by a Katherine with full-strength, or he just wanted to torture her. Probably the latter was the most likely.<p>

"Stay in the car, do not attempt to leave or attract attention. Oh, and Katerina? Drink this tea- all of it," Klaus smiled. Katherine took the travel mug and reluctantly sipped from it, coughing and choking immediately.

"Vervain," she gasped out.

"Dear me, I thought you weren't affected by it," Klaus said mildly. "Oh well. Be sure to drink it all before we get back."

Not that Elena minded Katherine being tortured, after everything she's done, but Klaus seemed bent on making Katherine suffer as much as possible; Elena's surprised Klaus hadn't brought up Katherine's family and described in detail how he killed them, the looks on their faces as they died. It seemed like something Klaus would do, declare that the car ride would be more entertaining with Klaus' Killer Story Hour. Then again, maybe he'd already done that and was simply trying out different forms of torture.

"So, Mr. Salvatore, see anyone who looks particularly appetizing?" Klaus remarked, gazing at the small crowd of people. "That family over there, those girls look like they could be quite tasty."

"Well, actually, Klaus, I already have the perfect meal in mind," Stefan slid his arm around Elena, his hand stroking her thigh. "I'm good."

Elena shivered slightly at the obvious desire in Stefan's tone, the way his hand groped her skin through her jeans. Eyes flashing and lip curling into a sneer, Klaus looked at her, his eyes lingering on Elena's neck as they normally did.

"Very well," he sniffed. "If you aren't inclined to share..."

"No," Stefan interjected quickly, moving his arm and gently pushing Elena behind him. "No," he said, his voice once again calm and even. "I'm afraid sharing her is out of the question- what can I say? I'm possessive."

"That's obvious," Klaus smiled slightly. "Be sure to leave enough of her for later, though. The ritual does require some of her blood."

"Only some?" Elena asked, her heartbeat quickening.

"That's right, my dear, only some," Klaus turned away from them, scanning the area again. "_Cooperate_ and you two will be skipping away hand-in-hand- that's what you want, Stefan? Or am I mistaken-"

"No," Stefan said slowly, like he still couldn't believe Klaus' words. He doesn't believe Klaus, doesn't believe that Elena's going to end up okay despite everything; yet more than anything that was what he wanted, to walk away from this with Elena. "That is what I want."

"I suppose I can't be upset over you wanting to be with your- _friends_- rather than tagging along with me," Klaus mock-sighed. "Have a lovely dinner," he smiled that strange, unsettling smile again.

Stefan chose to celebrate this particular bit of good news with a passionate kiss, one that took her breath completely away and nearly knocked her over. Their lips locked, Stefan pulled Elena to a deserted area, running his lips over her neck, fisting the hem of her t-shirt.

"Stefan, Stefan," Elena tilted her neck to receive more of his delicious kisses. "Shouldn't we be, I don't know, coming up with a plan or something?

"Why? All of our plans tend to go wrong- we should just improvise," he gave her a look, all smoldering eyes and lips and she found herself saying, "You need to eat," because otherwise they were clearly just going to end up fucking in some dark corner and Klaus would undoubtably walk in on them again. Not that it was any better with Stefan sucking from her wrist, his hand skimming her side the entire time.

"Thank you," he exhaled and straightened up, a drop of blood on his chin. "Thank you," he repeated and bit into his own wrist, held it to her and she drank from him, still surprised by how enjoyable she found drinking from him. When she finished a heavy flush covered her face and she couldn't look at him. Stefan ran a finger over her lips, removing traces of blood.

"Why does Klaus hate Katherine so much?" she asked quietly, randomly pulling a question out of air.

"Because she's Katherine?" Stefan quirked an eyebrow. "He's been chasing for her centuries," he shrugged and when she looked at him a surprised look spread across his face. "Don't tell me you feel sorry for her."

"You don't?" Elena asked.

"Are you kidding? Seriously, after everything she's done-" Stefan stopped himself. "I can't say her suffering is the thing that's bothering me the most."

Elena frowned, taking this as yet another indication that Stefan wasn't totally back yet, that he still wasn't acting with his normal empathy that he had towards just about everything and everyone. Then again, even normal Stefan didn't like Katherine (despite her constant worries that Stefan would fall for Katherine again, fall for the mysterious vampire with a far superior shoe collection).

"Hey," Stefan stroked her cheek. "It's not like I'm enjoying watching her suffer, but- I'm more worried about you."

Elena nodded and leaned against him, breathing him in and trying to stay calm, trying to not freak out as they went back to the car.

"Onwards!" Klaus chanted, his sickening enthusiasm flaring again. "We're off to see the wizard- literally. Eager to see Robert again, Katerina?" he smiled at Katherine, who scowled at muttered, "Fuck off," her voice almost unrecognizable.

Stefan held Elena's hand tightly as they started driving again, his eyes flickering back and forth between Elena and Klaus, and hoping that for once, Klaus was actually telling the truth, the whole truth, and by the end of the night they would be free.

* * *

><p>They ended up at a creepy warehouse in the middle of nowhere, the backing trees and moonlight making the building seem like the perfect setting of a horror movie. Dim candlelight flickered from the slightly open doorway, and Stefan paused suddenly before entering, a look of horror on his face.<p>

"What is it?" Elena started to ask when Klaus interrupted, "Hurry up, you two!"

There were bodies inside, all with the dazed contentment of compulsion on their faces, all bearing cuts all over their bodies, blood dripping down their skin. Stefan froze at the doorway, staring at the droplets of blood, his face changing in anticipation. God, he wanted to drink, he wanted to feed on all of them.

"Stefan," Elena stood in front of him, digging her fingers into his side and gently touching his face. "Breathe, Stefan, just breathe, in and out," she murmured and slowly he began to calm down, focusing only on Elena and gradually, everything else- the lust for blood, the desire to feed- faded away.

Klaus watched them carefully, a frown on his face. He sighed in irritation and walked over to Robert. "Is everything ready?"

Robert, interrupted from carefully arranging crystals into a circle, glared at Klaus. "I'll need the dopplegangers' tokens," he said, his voice icy.

"Right," Klaus headed over to Katherine and held out his hand. "Your ring, my dear."

Katherine's eyes blazed with pure fury as she slowly removed a small silver ring, one with a Celtic spiral design on it. "I hope whoever you're trying to bring back hates you," she hissed. "I hope she kills you."

"Bitter to the end," Klaus nodded and walked over to Elena, whose gaze was still focused on Stefan. "Your necklace."

When Elena didn't immediately hand it over, Klaus ripped it off instead, leaving miniscule droplets of blood on her neck from the chain. Don't look, Stefan told himself, having to fight to keep his gaze on her face even as he gently wiped the blood away. Elena's eyes remained locked with his, frightened and angry and loving all at once, her hand gripping his face and hip, not trusting herself to let go.

"What's with all the people?" Katherine snarked. "What, you think spilling more blood will give you a better shot? What's the matter, feeling a little insecure?"

Klaus smiled coldly, roughly flinging the jewelry to Robert. "Oh, these aren't for the ritual. These are just a little treat for Mr. Salvatore."

"No thanks," Stefan shot back instantly, feeling Elena's hands start to shake, hearing her heartbeat quicken. He wanted the blood, almost desperately, but he forced himself to focus on Elena, to shut his mind away from the potential gleeful carnage.

"Told you it wouldn't work," Robert muttered, tracing the spiral on Katherine's ring; although Elena didn't see this particular gesture, she wondered about the warlock- he certainly didn't seem all that fond of Klaus. What did Klaus have on him- or who was he trying to protect?

"Don't you have chanting to do? Or is saving your dear mother really not at the top of your priorities anymore?" Klaus shot back, having perfected the art of the short but potent threat. "Now," he continued, barely batting an eye. "Before we begin the ritual, Mr. Salvatore, you will have the pleasure of dining on these lovely people."

"No," Stefan immediately protested, finally having the strength to look away from Elena.

Klaus stalked over to them, eyes blazing. "You will. Drain every them, tear them apart, or I'm afraid there'll be no chance for Elena. As I said earlier, the ritual doesn't call for all of her blood and I was planning on leaving her alive. Sure, you'd probably have to feed her some blood to be on the safe side, but seeing how much she seems to enjoy it I don't think you'll mind. The alternative is you refuse, we take the blood we need, and I snap her neck."

But his blood would still be in her system, Stefan realized. She'd start to transition, become a vampire- exactly what she didn't want. "You fucking bastard," he whispered and rushed at Klaus, wanting nothing more than to kill him, beat him, tear him apart. Klaus merely flung him aside, sending Stefan crashing against the wall, but Stefan got up again, ready for a fight.

"Stefan, Stefan don't-" Elena started to yell, but in an instant Klaus was in front of her and his eyes were boring into hers. "You, my dear, need to stop interfering. So stay still and shut up."

He turned back to Stefan. "So, Mr. Salvatore, what will it be? Alive or dead-alive?"

As if to illustrate his point, Klaus placed both hands on Elena's neck. She couldn't speak, but so many emotions came into her eyes- fear, terror, sorrow, fury. She was absolutely fucking furious with Klaus for, well, any number of things, Jenna certainly being number one, but this? Flat out torturing Stefan just because he could, as he'd been doing all along? The bastard could suffer the most painful death in the world and it wouldn't be enough. Stop thinking like that, she ordered herself, it's not helping.

Okay. So they had two choices: death or death. It it was up to Elena, she'd tell Stefan that she's not worth it, that her desire to remain human was not worth more people dying all on the offset chance that Klaus would keep his word. But it's never been up to her, not really, and now, even as she tried so hard to communicate with her eyes, Elena wasn't sure what Stefan would end up choosing. Elena could see Stefan weighing Klaus' threat in his mind, even as he stared at her, his eyes full of questions. He could save her and yes, Elena as a vampire- honestly, though he could never tell her- he wanted that. He knew, he had known since their first conversation- that he wanted to spend eternity with her. Yet if she didn't want that...

Klaus sighed impatiently. "Let's move things along, shall we?"

A silver knife flashed through the air and sliced one of Elena's arms; her eyes teared up with pain and Stefan rushed towards her, only to be stopped by Klaus holding the knife against Elena's throat.

"Your choice, Mr. Salvatore."

And Stefan did what he'd known all along he would: grabbing the nearest person on the floor (a middle-aged woman who bore an alarming resemblance to a Mystic Falls English teacher), Stefan tore into her neck and began to drink.

* * *

><p>By the time Stefan was finishing drinking the last victim, Elena's eyes were so swollen by tears she could barely see anything. The place seemed to be coated in blood and body parts, and Katherine had to be controlled by Robert so she wouldn't go after any spare blood. Klaus was chuckling softly in her ear, clearly enjoying Elena's pain and the return of the Ripper. Yet Stefan, despite draining every last one of them, didn't seem particularly happy; he was intent on gathering up the body parts and carefully putting the pieces back together, making the bodies whole again. He couldn't look at Elena, and no matter how much she screamed in her mind <em>Look at me! Look at me!<em> it had no effect whatsoever.

"Good, good," Klaus smiled and relaxed his grip on Elena's arm. At first he'd kept up some awful commentary, telling Elena to watch certain movements until at last he'd given that up and just spent the rest of the time laughing and watching in admiration.

Stefan's face and shirt were coated in blood and he finally stood up, the bodies put back together. Elena could barely breathe, so shaken by what she'd just seen, the violence and carnage committed by Stefan. _Stefan_. And yet again there were more people dead because of her, because she was selfish, because she was stupid. Because she didn't want to be a vampire and had confided that to Stefan all those months ago.

Robert flung Elena's necklace and Katherine's ring into the center of a ring of crystals, chanting low under his breath. He held out his hand and Klaus gave him a tiny ring, so small and delicate, so fragile and seemingly so breakable. Elena tried to watch, tried to focus, but she could only look at the bodies and Stefan, Stefan, who had a cold look on his face that clashed with his pain-filled eyes.

The surroundings and people began to take on a hazy quality, an almost dreamlike atmosphere where everything seemed to move too quickly and yet too slowly all at once. Klaus dragged Katherine over to Robert, not without being kicked and nearly having his eyes scratched out, grimacing as her nails clawed at his face and tore his skin. Robert looked calmly at her and suddenly Katherine screamed, her body writhing as Robert slit her arm, wedging the wound with crystal chips to keep the wound from healing. Her terrible screams, terrified and filled with pain, continued as her blood dripped onto the crystal ring, Robert circling her arm so her blood eventually covered all of the crystals. Was it just Elena's unreliable, heavy eyes or were the crystals beginning to emit an eerie glow?

"Goodbye, my dear," Klaus said with a sad smile, his features changing and black ridges forming to circle his bright yellow eyes and twisted teeth. He kissed her and then moved his lips to her neck, furiously tearing at her throat as Katherine screamed yet again. Her blood dripped from Klaus' mouth as he carelessly threw her to Stefan, who caught and held her at arm's length, staring at her, the ex-love of his life who looked exactly like the love of his life and whose blood was pouring out of her mangled neck and was in for a very painful death.

Elena stared as Stefan murmured something to Katherine and touched her face, his eyes almost sad as he took the stake Klaus held out and thrust it into Katherine's chest. Her body dropped heavily to the ground, becoming a deathly-grey before their eyes, dying and all Elena could do was stare, unable to believe what was happening, what had just happened.

And Klaus was leading Elena to the crystals, Robert was slicing her arm. It hurt, god it hurt, much more than a regular cut or so Elena thought, as if the knife had a spell so it caused even more pain. The cut was deep and her blood was pouring out and Elena was trying to scream and unable to, trying to fight and unable to move.

Then suddenly her back hit the floor and she blinked, watching the muddle of limbs that were Stefan and Klaus, Robert's headless body falling to the ground amidst the violent blur of motion that Elena's eyes couldn't even begin to catch.

And then all motion ceased and Stefan stood over Klaus, clutching his ripped-out heart in his hand, standing over what remained of Klaus' body which had been torn apart.

Elena could talk again. "Oh. My. God." was all she could manage.

Stefan threw the heart aside and rushed to her, not for a hug like she thought but to grab her arm, visibly straining to look at it in a steady, clinical way rather than with lust or thirst or desire. Without a word he bit his wrist and shoved it at her and Elena drank, still confused, still lost, just knowing that she had a killer headache, her back was throbbing, and her arm felt like- well, it fucking hurt, but all the pain meant was that she was actually alive.

"You," she tried talking, "He- you- they- are you okay?"

Stefan whispered, "No," and moved quickly away from her, not trusting himself around her. Elena bit her lip, watching the pain on his face as he stared at the bodies, knew he was blaming himself for all the carnage.

"What should we do?" she asked hoarsely.

* * *

><p>It was easy to decide to burn the warehouse with Klaus' body inside. It was less easy to figure out what to do with the other bodies. Stefan tried to convince Elena to leave him there or at least stake him, injure him in some way so he wouldn't attack her, but Elena, perhaps foolishly, refused.<p>

They ended up driving for a while, and yes, Stefan probably shouldn't have been driving but both of them were wired and jittery and totally non-suited to driving. Besides, he's the faster driver, and they had a long way to go before reaching Virginia; they don't talk much on the drive, Elena exhausted and numb, Stefan trying not to break.

Just after dawn, they make it to Virginia and pull off to collapse at a motel and finally, _finally_ call home. Elena nearly collapsed in relief when she heard Jeremy's voice, thinking the entire time how much older he sounds and how weird that is and how good, how fucking good it was to talk to her little brother. Stefan hesitated but finally made himself dial the familiar number, forced himself to say quietly, "Damon?" and listen to the ensuing silence. Elena watched him carefully, lightly squeezed his leg as she blatantly listened to their conversation; not that there was much to the conversation apart from where they were and how long it would take Damon to get there and grumbling about driving with Alaric and Jeremy.

While Stefan showered, Elena gathered herself for her other call, having to calm down and explain what she wanted from Caroline. They hadn't exactly talked about it, but Elena had a feeling Stefan would agree to her plan.

"Are you okay?" she asked softly when he emerged, his hair still damp and making him look years younger despite the circles under his eyes.

"No. No, I'm not," he whispered and she reached for him, but he evaded her touch. "Elena- all those people-"

"It wasn't your fault," she tried to say firmly. "Stefan-"

"Don't," he dropped heavily onto the bed. "I don't- I don't want to talk about it. Not now."

Elena bit her lip. "Okay... but, Stefan..." she trailed off as she realized she really didn't know what to say. Instead, she scooted over to him and wrapped her arms around him, resting her face on his shoulder and Stefan didn't pull away, but he didn't pull her closer either. I should be crying, Elena thought, I should feel something.

"What did you say to Katherine?" she asked quietly and Stefan flinched. "I'm sorry-"

"I told her I was sorry," Stefan replied. "That's all."

Elena closed her eyes and rubbed the back of his neck, knowing the worst of the guilt and pain for Stefan were still to come.

* * *

><p>A heavy, persistent knock on the door woke them from the half-slumber they'd fallen into. Jeremy wordlessly wrapped Elena into a gigantic hug, and it turned out that was all that was needed for the floodgates to open. Her sobs were harsh, heavy, and Jeremy held her and let her tears soak through his jacket.<p>

"Sorry," she muttered some time later, wiping her face on her sleeve.

"You have nothing to apologize for," Alaric told her. "Well, maybe next time you go off on a rescue mission, let us know first?"

"Or bring us alone," Caroline practically broke Elena's ribs in a hug.

Damon said nothing. He hadn't spoken since getting there, his eyes flickering back and forth between Elena and Stefan, worry, relief, and pain mixed on his face.

Caroline insisted that they eat some chocolate before they talked, practically forcing the candy at Stefan. They huddled close together to exchange stories, Elena's voice growing hoarse as she gave a bare-bones account of her adventures, not wanting to linger over the details, not wanting to remember, Stefan occasionally saying something but otherwise letting her do the talking. She could barely take in the details of their own stories, of Caroline getting the going-away message and, in her own words, "freaking out so much Mom thought she had to shoot me which, by the way, was very traumatic for both of us and she's mad at you and then we freaked out together." About Alaric and Jeremy trying to hack into databases so they could put a trace on her phone and about Bonnie's repeated frustrations with failed locating spells, her efforts to teleport from her dad's house back to Mystic Falls which didn't end well. Damon was the only one who didn't jump in with a story; she imagined she could pretty easily guess what he did- shouted, threw stuff, threatened people, drank a lot of Scotch. Maybe he did those things, maybe he didn't, and Elena wasn't sure she really wanted to know.

"So you guys ready to come home?" Alaric asked.

Elena exchanged a glance with Stefan, looked at Caroline. "We're not coming home right now," she said softly. "Stefan- he needs to detox, and it'll be easier for him if he goes... somewhere else and I'm going with him."

Amidst Alaric and Jeremy's protests, Damon spoke quietly, "That's dangerous. Too dangerous. Not to mention incredibly stupid."

Stefan didn't say anything.

"Damon!" Caroline hit him. "It's Stefan, okay? And they talked about it before and-"

"Wait, you knew?"

"I called her earlier," Elena said calmly and Caroline added, "Hence the whole separate car thing. Oh, Elena, I got the supplies. You're good to go."

"This is insane," Damon muttered. "He could kill you-"

"I-," Stefan started.

"I can't leave him, Damon," Elena said softly. "I don't think I can ever leave Stefan again."

He stared at her, perhaps the only one apart from Stefan to comprehend her full meaning, and a light died in his eyes.

"Damon," Stefan finally spoke, finally actually looked his brother in the eye. "I- I don't think that...I think it might make it easier for me, if Elena's there." That is, it would make it harder for him, seeing the look in her eyes whenever he disappointed her or didn't make enough of an effort. Although he'd feel better if Elena left him (if not for good, then at least for a while), it would take more than compulsion to get Elena to leave.

It took a few more rounds of persuasion, but at last they were all moving out to the cars, Elena and Stefan moving to Caroline's car (after promising her they would take good care of it, not wanting to use Klaus's car, not wanting to use anything belonging to Klaus ever, ever again). A quick check of the trunk confirmed Elena's expectations that Caroline was a super packer, even with less notice: she'd packed a cooler full of blood-bags and had somehow even gotten extra clothes for them. The tears started up again when they said their goodbyes, even though the goodbyes were only for a little while and not for forever.

Elena drove this time, drove the several hours it took to get to one of Stefan's hidden properties. The cabin was by a small lake, reminiscent of the Gilbert lake-house, though not nearly as elaborate. Nor did it have as many rooms or furnishings, boasting a simple kitchen and one bed; the bed was enough for Elena and she shoved Stefan onto it first before sinking down besides him, falling asleep clutching his hand.

She didn't dream.

* * *

><p>Stefan's eyes were empty, utterly devoid of emotion except bleak agony. "I can't do this, Elena," he told her. "I can't live with myself-"<p>

"We've been over this, Stefan," Elena spoke calmly, the words familiar by now. "You're not taking off, you're not dying, and I'm not leaving."

The days were quiet now, now that Stefan's angry outbursts had finally stopped. For days he'd been filled with cold fury, raging over what he'd done, blood or the lack of it, and Elena had taken it, yelling right back at him, soothing him, forcing him to drink more animal blood, holding him tightly when he collapsed in exhaustion. The anger's faded, leaving Stefan an empty shell, the only emotion he seemed capable of feeling was despair, plus an enormous amount of self-loathing.

It was a conversation they'd had at least a hundred times by then, Stefan wanting to leave her and Elena refusing.

"I'm not giving up on you," she told him. "I'm not letting you go."

They go through the days slowly, following a routine. Stefan woke up first, always with the intent of leaving, knowing that if he left Elena might still have a chance at a normal life, but in the end he never could. He'd look at her, her sleeping face so peaceful and relaxed, her breathing calm and even; her legs always ended up wrapped around his, as if in the middle of the night Elena became aware that Stefan would try to leave and so she pulled him closer, held him tighter, made it impossible for him to disentangle his body from hers.

Elena would go with him while he hunted, trying to stay as still as possible while Stefan looked for a rabbit or squirrel to feed from. At first it was hard for her, watching Stefan stalk to animals and kill them, seeing the slight pleasure on his face while he ate, but she convinced herself to remain, to encourage Stefan to continue. She's probably never going to be able to watch Bambi again.

"Sorry," he whispered one morning, blood dripping down his face. "It's disgusting, revolting-"

"Noble," Elena countered.

Most nights Elena would end up holding him as Stefan broke down again and again, the countless faces of victims showing on an endless loop in his mind.

And still Elena stayed.

One morning Elena woke first; she smiled to herself, remembering how in the old days she would always try to wake up before Stefan, just so she could watch him sleep. Creepy, yes, but there was something about Stefan sleeping. The way his nose twitched, how his hair stuck up crazily. Most of all it was the expression on his face, the lack of pain or fear, just simple contentment. Content to be with her in bed, his arm slung around her and feet curled with hers.

Now Stefan always seemed worried, always bore an upset look, but even so, it was relaxed slightly. Elena stroked his face, running her fingers from his hair to his chin, planted small kisses along his jaw, and didn't stop when he opened his eyes and looked at her.

"What are you doing?" he asked quietly, not stopping her. "How can you-?"

"I love you," Elena answered simply and nestled her head against his chest, squeezed his hand. "I love you, Stefan."

"I love you," he whispered.

It was the first time he'd said it since they'd been at the cabin. Tears sprung to Elena's else- she seemed to cry at least once a day now- and she kissed his hand.

That day was the first Stefan didn't mention killing himself or leaving her.

A few days later he brought up returning to Mystic Falls, something he still wasn't ready for but the possibility no longer frightened him as much as it had in the past.

Elena brought up her idea of mixing animal blood with a small amount of human blood and Stefan didn't flinch or immediately reject the idea.

"We'll start with a tiny amount," she said, "a little bit every day."

He loved that they'd become "we" again- a team, and was so grateful that he wasn't alone, that Elena was there besides him.

A few days after that they made love for the first time in weeks, both crying as they came and for a long time afterwards. Elena buried her face against Stefan's neck and gripped his hair, never wanting to let go of him, never wanting to leave him; she pressed her body firmly against his and kissed him again and again, their hands clasping and holding each other tightly. Stefan rocked against her, locked his eyes with her, love overshadowing all other emotions.

"I love you," he repeated and each time it became a little easier to say the words.

It wasn't easy to deal with the names and faces with the victims, it would never get easier to deal with them. The sharp bursts of pain that occurred with every breath gradually faded, and the guilt became bearable. Not easy to deal with and the guilt certainly didn't go away, but it no longer overwhelmed him every waking and non-waking moment.

"I don't know how bad it'll get elsewhere," he confessed one evening. They were sitting by the lake and wrapped in a blanket, Elena's legs draped over his and her head resting on his shoulder.

"It'll probably be like anything else- better sometimes, worse others," Elena murmured. "Promise me you'll tell me though, if you start getting worse."

Stefan pulled her necklace out of his pocket and Elena stared at it; for some reason she hadn't expected to see it again, not after the ritual.

"I cleaned it," Stefan hastily said. "I didn't know if you wanted or... didn't want-"

Elena turned and pulled her hair away from her neck, waiting for Stefan to put it back one her. When it was securely around her neck Elena touched the necklace, a small smile spreading across her face and she took Stefan's hand, grasping it tightly as she placed her head on his shoulder again.

That night they both slept soundly, their bodies intertwined and their hands clasped, both thinking that maybe, just maybe, everything would be okay.


End file.
